Faker
by NIGRIS
Summary: Patrick Falso is a man of many talents, like making costumes for conventions. But during his latest convention, everything turns for the worst as he gets caught between a fight for an old artifact which indadvertedly sends him into his favorite anime, One Piece. Now equipped with powers not of his own and a torn memory, watch as he travels the grand line on an adventure!
1. Chapter 1

**[THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN REVISED]**

**I do not own any of the worlds, characters, powers, references, or the many other things in this story. They only belong to the many authors who created them. I only own the OC's in this story. If you do not know of the characters or authors, then kindly search them up on Wikipedia because I won't do it for you.**

**This story was inspired by Marcus Galen Sands' 'Why Me?' I may not continue this story if you don't want me to. I'll only make more chapters if you want me to, or if I feel like this has the potential to become great.**

**Without further adieu, let us start this story.**

**Chapter 1: The End of The beginning**

* * *

**Faker**

I was sweaty and pretty much straining to keep one leg moving in front of the other. Thankfully, unlike the other morons at this convention, I had paid attention to my wallet's cries of mercy and my slowly shrinking amount of money, so I had enough money to get back to my apartment. Most of my money was spent wisely; the truth lied within the bag hung around my right arm. Every step would cause a jingle to wring out from the many trinkets inside.

_I wish people would be a little smarter about these things and just think about what things cost before actually buying them. _The universe seemed to want to prove my point because I looked to my left and saw a rather plain-looking individual holding his wallet. He was peaking inside of it with his face contorted into sadness. Honestly, I wanted to smack him on the back of the head for being such an idiot. I despised idiots; I despised all idiots.

Using my left, white-gloved hand I wiped the sweat that had slowly accumulated on my brow. Dear god it was hot in here! I wish I brought a thing of deodorant with me; I never took into consideration that my costume would do this, make me this sweaty. Although it could just be the Colorado weather, it is summer after all. Though I was rather proud I was even able to make this costume in the first place. It was not like this was your average costume after all. It took blood, sweat, and money to put this thing together!

"Patrick Falso, you are a genius," I told myself with a pleased grin. And this compliment wasn't just about the costume, it was about the overall situation. I had come here with a few of my friends (fellow nerds, geeks, and otakus in arms); we had heard about a local Sci-fi and Anime convention that was not to far from where we all went to college. It took some time, but with a few odd jobs and a some loans of money from our parents, we were able to get some passes before they all ran out.

"I wonder where they are anyway?" I wondered aloud as my eyes scanned around the large area. "Jessica said she was just gonna' walk around. Kiyomi was heading to that Doctor Who stand last time I saw her. And Michael…" I tried to bleach my brain from the several colorful ponies.

"And then there's Johnson," I said with a grimace. Whatever that idiot was doing was most likely not legal. "I'm sure he won't do anything stupid. Well nothing too stupid," I corrected myself at the last second. My thoughts were quickly cut off as someone's shoulder met mine. I nearly fell to the ground, but I was able to catch myself at the very last moment.

"Asshole," I cursed under my breath as I looked behind me to see the moron that had almost sent me careening to the ground. Sadly, the large amounts of people crowded around made it hard to locate the perpetrator. My eyes were slightly dragged to the head of a tall, hooded figure in the crowd, but he quickly disappeared into the see of otakus. After glaring at that general direction for a good few seconds I let out a sigh. This was my fault, and not in the way one would have thought.

I was rather tall; I stood 6'1" feet tall. I had a lean build with muscle covering my entire form to compliment my height from constant workouts at the gym. My brown hair was short and spiky while my eyes were green. My skin was peach colored; it seemed to always keep that consistency no matter how many times I stay outside, or tried to tan it.

My 18 year-old body's shape gave me the ability to cosplay as many characters. Like last year, I had went and cosplayed as Kakashi from Naruto. That sure got the attention of some people. It took a few weeks or so to prepare the entire costume. And that was also where the problem lied right now.

I had no problem with cosplaying as any character, the problem was that my ego always gets the best of me. When I dress up, I put all my skills and time into it to make it look as exact to the character as possible. It takes up to a good month of preparation to get everything prepped. I had to learn how to sew, paint, and do leather work, and those were merely the basis of what I've had to learn. Basically, in a way, it was a 'whose is bigger' contest. And I wanted mine to be the biggest…metaphorically speaking.

The problem was, that that kind of work took time, lots of time. And because of that I would usually get to the conventions when the most people were there. Sometimes the things that I wanted were already out of stock and that would leave me in a bad mood. But I just couldn't help myself I just loved the attention I got.

And this one had to be my best work yet. Usually, I had a hard time finding characters and outfits to cosplay in that gave me a challenge, but with the release of Bleach's "The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc", a wide variety of new ideas were opened to me. And that idea took the form of Ichigo's complete fullbring.

Making Ichigo's fullbring was without-a-doubt the hardest thing I had ever constructed. The easiest part of making the costume was getting a black body suit that was my size; that was the only easy part. The rest of that time was used to stitch together the white armor that went over the body suit, which I had glued onto the body suit today. I then had to buy a pair of white boots and gloves as well. The final part was the sword and sheath that was attached to the right side of my back. It took a good two weeks to carve out the sheath and carve out a wooden replica of the machete and another day to paint them; it stayed attached to my back with a mixture of glue, stitching and nails.

The hard work had paid off greatly, but there were still some problems. The first, and obvious, being ethnicity. Seeing as Ichigo was oriental and I was caucasian, but that didn't really matter. Besides, it wasn't like any other cosplayer listened to that rule. My jaw-line wasn't as pronounced as his; I was also able to fix my hair color by putting in some orange hair dye, making it the same bright orange as his. And to take care of my green eyes, I put in a pair of brown colored-contacts.

My friends told me that I should've signed up for the anime convention's cosplay contest, which I immidietly declined. I wasn't one for contests; I found them to be stupid and a waist of time. On another note, the first place winner of the contest cosplayed as Dante from Devil may cry. I had to say, that it looked rather nice… and I was starting to regret not signing up for it.

-RING RING RING RING RING RING-

I was pulled out of my deep thoughts by a muffled ringing coming from my bag. I reached in and pulled out my cellphone. I knew it wasn't very bright of me to keep it there, but it wasn't like I could carry it anywhere else; I had sadly forgotten to put in pockets. I flipped it open and put it to my ear before answering it.

"Hello?" I said curiously. I was in such a rush to answer the call I had forgotten to check the caller ID. "Patrick here."

"_Hey Patrick, where are you?"_ The very familiar, serious voice of Jessica questioned.

_"I've been trying to get someone to pick but they've all gone off doing god knows what,"_ She said in aggravation, "_Kiyomi has pretty much disappeared last time I saw her; we all know where Michael is, but I refuse to be near that idiot when he's going gaga over ponies."_ True, I found it quite disturbing to see a 19-year old man humming the theme song of a little girl's T.V. show over and over. _"I think I saw Johnson fifteen minutes ago with a bottle of beer, a lighter, so I high-tailed it out of there as soon as possible."_ She said with a dejected sigh, almost pitying the fool.

"Well, to answer your question Jessica… I'm in upper D-hall." I said while taking the time to quickly look around for any signs to give my location. I heard her sigh again, signifying to me that something bad was happening on her end. "I have the feeling you aren't near D-hall, are you?"

_"Nope, not in the slightest. I'm in upper A-hall."_ Yeash, that was pretty far away from where I was. It was a good twenty minutes from here, especially with the congested halls. _"So what do ya' want to do? Meet up somewhere?"_ She asked.

"Yeah I'm pretty much done, let's go meet up at the food court in B-hall; the one we stopped at when we first got here," I told her, "After that, lets see if we can find everybody else so we can re-group." Hopefully then we can figure out we were ready to back to the dorms or we were still going to stay. As much as I loved conventions, college came first before that.

_"Alright, I see if I can find anyone else on my way, you try and do the same."_ I gave a quick 'ok' before I heard the line go dead. I sighed while returning my phone to my bag. So I had to go find them on my way to the cafeteria, huh? Well it was only fair since we were both heading towards the same place. I just hoped that Jessica found Michael before I did. Like I said, I wanted nothing to do with MLP.

Michael could love it as much as he wanted, I just didn't want to get pulled into it either.

"Here's for high-hopes for finding Kiyomi or Johnson." I mumbled to myself as I journeyed to the food court.

I didn't want to find Michael.

* * *

"Kiyomi or Johnson. Kiyomi or Johnson. Kiyomi or Johnson. Kiyomi or Johnson."

I kept repeating this mantra over and over under my breath as my eyes carefully scanned over each and every person that was in my forward view. It wasn't like it helped though. I was no longer in D-hall, as I had finally made my way through the ever-growing crowd of men and women into C-hall, but there was still no sign of them. I had tried calling them on their cells but they never even picked up, not once. On top of that, my phone ran out of juice, so I was pretty much blind when it came to figuring out where my best friends were. All I could do now was hope that Jessica had somehow found them and was now bringing them to our designated area.

_Speaking of Jessica… _I thought as my brow furrowed in confusion. When I complimented her earlier today on how amazing her costume looked, her face got embarrassed and she slugged me! I mean, who punches someone for complimenting them?! And really I was just complimenting myself, seeing as I made her lovely costume. As for Kiyomi, she was laughing her ass off like she just saw the funniest thing ever. _What was weirder was the fact that when_ _I tried asking Johnson and Michael they just sighed__. _That brought an entire clusterfuck of dubiety on my shoulders.

Whatever. The opposite sex was weird.

_I'll never understand the opposite sex; it's not in my genes._ Figuring out the true existence of the markers in Dead Space would probably be easier than understanding the female population. _And when I do figure out how their far more complicated minds work, I'll write a book, and spread that vast knowledge to my fellow brethren!_ I joked around in my head while grinning.

-RUMBLE-

Me, along with the many other people walking around me all stopped what they were doing as a large, rumbling sound echoed throughout the halls. It was strong enough that the ground shook, and unprepared people fell down. I almost did too, but my earlier stumble seemed to have prepared me for it. As soon as it came it left, leaving everyone it state of shock.

"What the hell was that?"

"—scared the crap out of me!"

"—think it was an earthquake?"

"That was close, I almost dropped—"

"I wonder if Samson is ok?"

Everyone's voices sprung to life and flourished in a wildfire of words. They must've all been surprised by that. I was to, it was just that I was still in shock. I mean, who wouldn't be? I wonder if that was an earthquake? I don't think that this part of the states got that many earthquakes.

_I'm guessing that everyone else is ok._ I told myself after the shock wore off. It wasn't like the earthquake was really all that dangerous, it was just a little shaking and that's that. _But seriously, I was not excpecting something like that at all. _I thought. Though I suppose no one can expect when an earthquake is supposed to happen. Well unless you have a seismograph or something like that.

I would have continued walking, if it were not for a far off sound my ears had caught coming from behind me. What was it? I tried to concentrate on it, but it seemed to be to far away from me. But then I suddenly figured it out. My brain took a quick second to fully realize what my ears were picking up, but they did.

Explosions…

And they were getting closer… fast!

-BOOM-

I was literally sent flying off my feet and into the air as a large explosion came right from behind me. Dust, smoke, and people were sent through the air with me. I could have heard my screams if it weren't for the fact that that there was a piercing screech that was constantly echoing in my ears. Actually, I couldn't here a thing, just that high-pitched screech.

I felt my body slam into the corridors wall knocking all the oxygen out of my lungs; I fell down on one of the many stands that were laid throughout the convention. My conscious began to slowly slip from me and my eyes slowly began to close. My thoughts were scrambled from the hit, but I was able to make out three figures walking through the smoke. They seemed to be as calm as ever as all the compatriots ran by them with fearful screams escaping from their mouths.

I didn't need to think any more, as my mind slipped into a sea of pitch black. I had finally gone unconscious.

* * *

A soft groan escaped my lips; it was the only thing I could manage to do. My senses were twisted and disoriented as the world swirled around me. I felt like I was on a ship that was constantly rocking back and forth. My body hurt so much, it felt like I was trampled by a stampede of people on Black Friday. Gosh, what the hell happened?

_An explosion. _My brain tried to comprehend the past events that had played out. _Let's see, I was walking down the hall, looking for everyone. We were going to meet up at the food court._ That sounded just about right. What happened after though? _There was an earthquake… then an explosion; I was caught in it and went unconscious._ Well, that sure explained why just about every inch of my body hurt so much.

My eyes opened only to see the gray ceiling of the convention center and I subtly noticed that it was covered in char and bits of ash. But from here, it was probably hard to tell, since everything was pitch black. The air felt hot, like I was way to close to a fire that was about to burn me. I noticed glowing, orange lights out of the corners of my eyes and a cackling sound so eerily similar to fire; it was the only sound since everything else was silent. It was accompanied by a thick smell of smoke that burnt my nose. Just breathing it in sent me into a small coughing fit. I was also able to pick the most peculiar of smells. It smelt… it had the smell of a piece of meat left to long on the grill so it got burnt.

I lay in the same position for a few moments before deciding enough was enough. Something really bad was going on and I had absolutely no clue what is going on, nor do I know how far it extends. For all I know my friends could be in serious danger. With that still in mind, I slowly got myself up on both my feet.

It took a little more strength then I had though to do it. It seemed that the impact on the wall really messed me up. I felt a stabbing pain in my left ankle, telling me that I had must've injured it in the explosion. I blinked a few times trying to get my eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness in the hallway that wasn't there earlier. While this was happening I moved my feet so I could get a better, but I had then suddenly stepped in something.

-SPLAT-

_What the?_ I thought while looking down. I seemed to have stepped in something. It stained my white boots a dark color, and because it was so dark, I couldn't tell what it was. For all I knew, I could've stepped in a puddle of oil. _What the heck is this stuff? _I questioned. I knelt and ran my fingers through it before bringing to my face. Just like my boots, my gloves were covered in the same dark color. I gave it a quick sniff and immidietly regretted it; it had this thick copper smell to it.

Then suddenly, one of the many shining lights in the dark corridor had landed on me. It gave me much clearer view as to what this stuff was. My heart skipped a beat and my face became pale as chalk. My body began to shake in utter fear, shock, and disgust; I could feel a small bit of bile rising up my esophagus. Oh god. Oh god! OH GOD!

It was red… deep… rich… crimson… red.

My vision was finally able to adjust, but I wish It hadn't. I didn't want to see what sort of hell was here.

The entire corridor looked as if an army had come right through it. All the merchandise stands had been destroyed and decimated, some had somehow caught fire and eerily kept the area lit. Blood was everywhere. Blood covered the floor; blood covered the walls, and even the roof had somehow been stained with the liquid of life.

Even my clothes were stained red too

Bodies… Bodies of the dead littered the floor.

The dead were of all ages; adults and the elderly. There were even children! _Children_…

I could not imagine they passed away peacefully, not from the agonizing positions they were in. While some bodies looked slashed to pieces others were ripped to pieces by some wild beast, leaving there organs, bones, and brain matter spilling out. A few had knives and other assortments of weapons sticking out of them like spears and swords. I even noticed a dead body hanging from the wall by a lance going through the cadaver's head, out the other side, and penetrating the wall behind it.

Some of the other bodies had been lit on fire, as they seemed to be stuck in an eternal scream, as if pleading for someone to help them. A few of the burnt corpses had their hands out-stretched, reaching towards some invisible person.

This wasn't a murder… I couldn't even call this a massacre!** It was just too fucking cruel**!

It was just death. Death. Death Death. Death! Death! Death! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!** DEATH! DEATH! DEATH!**

It took me a moment, but my body found a the right response to make…

"BLEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGG!"

…By emptying my stomach onto the floor.

My breakfast and lunch were splashed onto the floor in the form of a putrid smelling, brown mass of vomit. I continued shooting the terrible excrement onto the floor as my gag-reflex activated over and over again. After a good few minutes, I stopped; my stomach simply did not have anything else to spew out.

Mucus escaped my mouth and nose, while stomach acids did the job of burning my throat. My body trembled with exhaustion at the constant vomiting.

_What the FUCK is going on!?_ I thought with horrified confusion as I tried to keep my eyes of the living nightmare I was standing in. _Just what the hell was going on while I was unconscious!?_ Well it was obvious what happened. Someone or something had come through here, and fucking MURDERED EVERYONE! What I wanted to know was what kind of monster could do this? Was this some kind of terrorist attack, or maybe some pedestrian's mind snapped and he decided to go on the massacre of a lifetime?

_Hold on._ My mind suddenly pulled itself together as a terrifying thought crossed through my brain. _Jessica, Michael, Kiyomi, and Johnson… they're all out there with whatever the hell did this! _Well, unless they were already dea—

_NO! I can't afford to think like that now! _I told myself with a shake of my head. I looked around this place one more time before I began sprinting out of the corridor, away from the real life hell I woke up in. Traveling down the hall was rather hard because of all the obstacles that were placed in my way; fires, dead bodies and other destroyed objects littering the ground, but I was able to manage it. As long as I got away from it, I was alright with it.

But I was sure of one thing...

_I got to get the hell out of here.  
_

* * *

I thought that the corridor was hell, but as I ran down the upper-floors of B-hall, I realized it was the first circle. What I saw as I ran down this corridor was…was…indescribable! D-hall…D-hall was NOTHING compared to the scarring scenes B-hall held. But I tried not to pay attention as I ran through this ordeal. If I got distracted, who knows what could happen.

"HELLO! IS THERE ANYONE THERE?!" I screamed out at the top of my longs as I kept at a fast pace do to the adrenaline coursing through my veins. "HELLO! ANYONE! ANYBODY! ANSWER ME!" It really wasn't that smart to cry out so loudly with whatever did this still on the loose, but I was extremely desperate. There had to have been someone that survived this ordeal too!

After some time I decided to take a quick break. Running from both halls in a dead-sprint was exhausting, especially with all the fires. Some areas I ran through were so full of smoke I could barely see through, let alone breath in! I tried my best to avoid those areas. _I wonder why hadn't the sprinkler system gone off. There's plenty enough fire to set it off a long time ago. _I idly thought as my eyes flickered to the ceiling for a moment to look at the (most likely) malfunctioning sprinklers. _Well whatever, that only gives another reason to find everyone as soon as possible and get the hell outa' dodge. _Because if whatever did this doesn't kill me, the fire will sure as hell take care of that.

That thought eerily stuck in my head as I continued forward, albeit, at a much slower rate than before. As I did I began to think out loud to myself, in hopes of taking my mind off of the gruesome scene around me.

"I wonder why someone would attack here of all places; is this a terrorist attack?" If it was terrorist, why not hit the U.S embassy, or maybe White House instead. "Although, it would be the best place to attack I suppose." I mean, there were a ton of people here; I would guess at least over 50,000. "And on top of that, there was the way they died." I thought with a grimace. I may not be an expert on terrorists, but I was sure that they were more gun and bomb savvy. I've never heard of a terrorist group using things like swords and spears. If one did, they would heave been dead a long time ago because of the difference in technological abilities.

"On top of that, there was the way they were all killed." Everyone was gruesomely massacred and disemboweled. I even saw a dead guy with what looked like his intestines pulled up his esophagus and were hanging limply out his mouth! Another guy looked like he had both his hands and feet stabbed together before being disemboweled. Amazingly, that was one of the more pr-13 murders.

The amounts of dead bodies were starting to frighten me greatly. What would happen if they actually were dead. I decided not to think about it, worrying would only make things worse me. The only thing I could do now was try a find them as soon as possible! My search would have continued, if it were not for a strange sound that had caught my ears.

-CLANG-

-CHING-

-WHOOSH-

-BOOM-

-SHINK-

"GYAAAAAHH!"

When my ears picked up the cry of pain the first thing that went through my head was "A living, non-dead person!" and I was off like a bullet towards it. The scream sounded rather far, but I didn't care! That voice meant that there was actually a living person, another living person that could be one of my many friends that were somewhere in this hell. I hoped that it was Johnson, that monster of a man would be able to find everyone and get us out of here lickety-split!

It took a little longer than I thought it would, but after making it through a few collapsed tables and several bodies, I finally made it to the source.

The sounds of metal smashing together and the cries were a lot louder than I had expected them to be. They were coming from one of the many large rooms that held talks between fans and the stars. I quickly noted that this one was holding a talk on 'Naruto', but I didn't really care. Actually, a small, miniscule part of me wished that they did die, that way the anime and manga would end. I mean, really, it wasn't like the world would be sad missing a few voice actors and a crappy author.

_Ok! Enough with the thoughts of murdering people, back to important things! _I told myself with a nod. Without further thoughts needed, I enter the double doors into the large room. As soon as I did, I would have never thought that my jaw was capable of dropping so far.

Sure everything was exactly like the rest of the convention; the dead laid on the floor along with many other broken things and fires of many sizes sprung from the ground (I had somehow gotten used to the morbid setting by now). What made my jaw drop was what is happening it the very center.

-CLING-

-CLANG-

-BAM-

"DIE FIENDISH DEVIL!"

-BOOM-

"YOU FIRST!"

The center of the room had been cleared of all contents, including bodies and destroyed tables and chairs. This small clearing took a large circle shape. In the center were two occupants, both alive and breathing unlike their very dead counterparts. And from what I could see, they were locked in combat.

The first one, the man on the left, was middle aged. He had chocolate brown hair that was combed back and a thick a la souvarov for a mustache. He had sapphire blue eyes that seemed to give off this deadly gaze and were place behind a pair of reading glasses. He wore brown slacks and brown dress shoes with a white, button-up dress-shirt under a brown vest. To finish off his look, he wore a white lab-coat. In his hands was a silver broadsword that was clashing against his opponents scythe.

His opponents had his face hidden from view along with the rest of his body. He wore a purple cloak with dazzling gold designs running along it. The cloak's shoulders were adorned with gold spaulders. In his hands was an evil looking scythe; it was made of some black material. The long handle was made of a long spine that curved slightly yet stayed relatively straight except where it curved backward right at the top. Coming off that curved end was a thin, black blade that looked capable of cutting through diamond with zero resistance.

They both struggled to push one another back to possibly gain more ground. Then somehow, their bodies blurred out of existence before appearing again in a different form of combat. The cloaked figure was behind the older gentlemen; his scythe would have bisected him if he hadn't managed to put his sword behind his back to stop the oncoming weapon.

With a grunt, the man was able to push the blade back long enough for him to jump back from his enemy to his left. He didn't stay there for long, as he jumped right back at him with his sword posed to skewer the man in through his sides.

But the cloaked fiend was able to move back just in time as his older counterpart passed by him. He raised his scythe high up into the air before bringing the weapon down upon the man who was still in mid-air. I thought it would've ended there, but the swordsman once again became a blur of white and appeared high above the scythe-weilding man. His left arm was outstretched towards him with his palm open. What happened next nearly made my jaw dislocate.

"PLATEA ALBUS DRACO!"

The man cried out in some language foreign to my ears. Then, out of nowhere, a large ball of light appeared in his hands. In didn't stay that form for very long, as it had expanded and contorted into the shape of a large, eastern-dragon. The light dragon charged towards him and monstrous speeds with a howling roar; the cloaked man gripped his scythe before raising it so the scythe's length was parallel to the oncoming monstrosity. He then extended his index finger and middle finger, which I had quickly noted was covered in black flames.

"JUODA GAISRO AVARIJOS ŽEMYN!"

A large ball of black fire shot from his fingers. The white dragon and black ball met in mid-air before exploding in shower of grey lights that seemed to saturate and not fade away. The room was illuminated and I took note of three figures, each dressed in black, standing farther away from the ongoing fight. The older gentleman landed on the ground with a grunt before charging his opponent at blinding speeds who had just managed to block his sword with the scythe's edge.

The force of both weapons clashing caused a strong gust of wind to flow from the area. Because I was standing at the only exit to the room, I was the one who took the brunt of the raging wind. I had nearly fallen over, but I was able to brace myself by putting my left foot back for more support. The wind was what my brain needed to kick-start itself back to full power because I my thinking muscle was moving a kilometer a second.

_What the fuck is this? What the hell is GOING ON!?_ I cried in my head with absolute shock at what I was seeing. _Is this real? What the hell is this?_ I wanted to slap myself across the face just to make sure this was a dream, but I was to frozen in fear at the ongoing fight. _Are these guys even human!? How are they moving so fast? This is like something out of a manga or something!_ I gripped my head as I began to hyperventilate. _I have to get out of here, if I get caught in this thing, then I'm going to the grave! _I told myself while slowly backing up.

I wasn't a coward, But I was smart. That's why I was going to going to leave this place and get the almighty fuck out of here. I wasn't going to go barreling out of this room crying for help, that'd probably get me killed! I had to be quiet, like a ninja on steroids.

_Quiet… extra quiet._ I told myself while slowly backing away from the humans (?) with in-human capabilities who continued their clash, causing small shockwaves to swarm throughout the area. I had just stepped out of the doorway. But it seemed that the god of karma was not on my side today.

-CRACK-

_CURSES!_

I looked down and (to my disgust) I had stepped on the arm of a burnt corpse. It seemed that the damage to the body had the bones weak, so when I stepped on it, the bones crumbled like a cookie. And somehow, when the bone broke, it made this extremely loud cracking sound that echoed in the large room. How, I don't know; I was no doctor, but I was sure that bones don't work like that. What I do know, is that things got _really _quiet. I gulped before slowly bringing my attention towards the two combatants who had stopped their fight to look at me.

My body was a stiff as aboard as I stood like a deer in headlights. Oh crap! This was not good! These monsters were going kill me! I could already picture it my mind; I was going to end up like the hundreds of other dead people in this living purgatory!

At first nothing happened, all the occupants in the room just kept their eyes on me. The older gent's eyes were what caught my attention the most. Many emotions flickered in his eyes. They were first shock and nervousness. Those emotions then became sadness and hope before molding back into that hardened gaze.

The cloaked man on the other hand.

He heaved out a sigh and scratched his head bellow his hoodie. He was acting as if he was surrounded by all this death and destruction. He set the end of his scythe against the ground and I saw red eyes that shined in the darkness glance at me.

"God dammit," I heard him say in irritation. "Someone is _still _alive. What the fucking shit!" He turned to look back at the three figures behind him and his voice was filled with anger. "What the fuck! Leader brought you with me because you were useful; apparently fucking NOT!" He snarled for moment before continuing.

The three figures didn't answer, though I did here one of them let out a feminine huff. While that was happening the older man was just glaring into the back of the hooded man's head, probably hoping for his head to explode. But he did not attack his exposed back. Why, I don't know.

"Well' not that it matters any more." He lifted his scythe with a single arm and pointed at me. "Sorry guy, it's time for you to die; no witnesses!"

I feared for my life at this moment. This guy was going to kill me! I was going to die!

-CLANG-

He didn't even take a step towards me before he was met with a clash of sparks. The man had crossed the distance in a second and were in a game of overpowering each other again.

"Child," I nearly jumped out of my skin as the other man spoke. Leave now! Find some means of escape and leave! I will try my best to hold them all off long enough for you to leave." He grunted out as he was pushed back a bit. I hesitated for a moment, but his next word shook me up at the shear power behind them. "GO! NOW!"

"Not on my watch!" Scythe Man roared. He dislodged himself the man and back up with a few large jumps. "Erebus, get rid of him!"

"With pleasure."

-BAM-

Something made contact with my back and I was sent off my feet. The air left my lungs and I soared across the room. I was disoriented and in pain, but it was more painful once I slammed into a wall for the second time today. How I wasn't dead or unconscious yet amazed me, but I didn't have the time to think as I went sliding down the wall on the other side of the room.

-CLUNK-

-SHINK-

I stopped with from a yank at my chest. How? I felt for the ground with my feet only to realize that I was still a few feet above the ground. I looked and saw the man, Erebus, standing right where I was. His left arm was extended in a way that it looked like he had just thrown something.

_Huh… What's going on? _I thought as I noticed that things were starting to spin and my vision was starting to blur too. My body felt stiff, like I had just got up from a really long nap. I seemed to be short of breath like every breath might've been my last.

Then I felt it. It was a dull pain in the center of my chest.

I slowly and shakily looked down and it all dawned on my. Sticking out, just below my chest, was The handle of a sword. It rammed right through me, and probably stuck into the wall I was against. That explained why I hadn't sunk to the floor already.

Then it hit me, a wave of nausea and pain that exploded throughout my body. I wanted to cry out in pain, but all I could let out were several weak coughs that made me spit something coppery... blood, I was spitting blood. Oh god it hurt! Pain, pain, pain!

_So that's it… I'm dead? _I thought questioningly. I mean, seriously. This was the end of my life; my 18-year old life? That was… unfair. _I haven't even done anything yet with my life! I haven't finished college, got a job, I haven't gotten married, I haven't had kids! _On top of that, I haven't saved my friends. My best friends could be out there right now looking for me; they could be dying and need my help! My thoughts were cut short as I coughed up another wad of blood that splattered down my costume.

My attention was brought to the glows of white and purple that came from the two combatants that were fighting with a much larger intensity than last. Purple and white energy exploded around their forms with fury as everything was blasted back by uncontrollable gales. I tried to pay attention to the ongoing combat, but I slowly felt my eyes shut, no matter how hard I tried to keep them open.

_Great, I really am dying, it's probably from the blood loss, or the sword going through my chest, _I thought with a pessimistic tone. But that all changed after I realized that yes, I was actually dying. Tears streamed down my eyes. _I don't want to die… _

There was still so much I hadn't accomplished yet.

I didn't want to die, I did't want to die!

No matter what, I didn't want to die!

_I DON'T WANT TO DIE!_

**Do you wish for the [Impossible].**

"Wh-what?" My eyes searched my surrounding area for someone that had spoken, but I found no one. That Erebus character that had stabbed me to the wall had walked away from me and had rejoined the other three, probably thinking I was dead.

_Speaking of dead, shouldn't I be pushing daisies already? _I thought. The more I thought about it, I realized that the extreme pain I was feeling earlier had no softened to a slight stinging ache. On top of that, I felt more alive than I did five minutes ago; I could breath, but it was still shaky. _What the heck is going on? People usually die when they get stabbed through the chest. Actually, now that I thing about it, this thing should be going right through my spine. _

That thought made me sick, knowing that this blade had possibly gone through my spinal column, but since it was right dead center, it should have. _Then why am I still able to move the rest of my body?_ That was true also, I was able to feel my legs and arms twitch each time a commanded them. _This is so weird._

-BOOM-

I was thrown from my inner thoughts as a large explosion reverberated through the large room. I looked toward the fight to see both men covered head to toe in cuts and bruises. The older gentleman's jaw was clenched tight. And when he spoke I could here the shear anger and hatred laced in them; they were obviously directed to his opponent.

"This has gone on long enough scum! Give me the Ethereal Orb now! If you do, I may just kill you painlessly." His words had no effect on him, as the cloaked man flipped him off.

"Oh yeah? I bet you want to try and bring back that dead kid. Well to bad, it ain't gonna' happen." He said while shouldering his scythe. "Leader wants the Orb no matter what cost. Even if it means killing off a couple thousand people."

"And I suppose it doesn't even bother you that all these people are people are dead by your hands." There was a sly smirk beneath his hood. "You are a monster of the worst kind," He sighed out before grasping his sword with both hands.

"That is why I shall wipe from the face of the earth once I retrieve the Ethereal Orb." He told him with grim determination. "I expected better from you child. Everyone did, yet you went down this dark road; you were such a prodigy," He with tone so enraged he might as well be spewing hellfire from his mouth. "But the knowledge you had wasn't enough for you was it!"

From the cloaked man's voice I guess he looked either irritated or exasperated. "Of course not! My teachers only taught me what they wanted to teach me—what they thought would keep me under their thumbs! But in the end I got them back; I killed each and everyone of them off." He chuckled, amused. "Now, I've gained knowledge you wouldn't believe... Power you couldn't comprehend."

"You don't regret it? Not even in the slightest?" He questioned.

"Does a person care about the ant they step upon?" The cloaked man questioned rhetorically.

"I see. Then I have to end your life here," He stated without emotion. "I will put you down like the mad dog you are."

"You think that you'd be able to take me on in the first place?" He said with a grin.

"But honestly, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and make this a bit interesting." He reached into his left sleeve before out came a silver crystal as large as an apple. "This way I don't have to worry about this fight being dull."

"Įsakau tau uždarytas tuštumą—"

The gem began to give off a small shine.

"—kurioje turėjau pasakė—"

The dull shine had brightened And flickered like a beacon.

"—Atidarykite tavo duris—"

The shining light was so bright that it was blinding. I would have lost my sight at this time if it weren't for the fact I was so far away.

"—Savo lobius viduje!"

The light exploded around him, until it encompassed his entire form along with the area that surrounded him. A slight screeching noise came off the anomaly and reverberated off the walls. And when it finally disappeared, I could finally make out what had happened, and the new contraption that stood behind him.

To call it a contraption could be wrong. It was just a giant orb that stood at least two meters tall. A swirling, silver mist churned within it as it gave off a mellow light. It was placed upon a stand that was made of twisted metal rods that formed three hollow legs to keep it standing.

But... Then there was this "feeling" that came with it.

_What is this feeling?_ there was this wrongness that emanating off of it in waves. The best way to describe it would be… It would be looking at something that shouldn't be scene, _ever_. The other occupants in the room seemed to feel the same as I did, because they to turned their heads so that the orb was out of their peripheral vision.

_Amazing..._

I on the other hand, continued to stare at the magnificent sphere. I just couldn't keep my eyes off of it. Everytime I tried to look away, my eyes just seemed to be drawn towards it again.

Was this the Etheral Orb? It had to be, it was far too amazing and beautiful to be anything else!

**You have called upon the [Impossible]. You have begged and pleaded for what cannot be to exist, occur or be done. You have wished to attain what is unattainable; you want to make plausible what is implausible.**

There it was again, that voice talking to me. Where was it coming from; just who was speaking to me. From what I could see, there was no one else by me. Everyone else was either fighting or watching the fight. So where…

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhh, the Ethereal Orb, in all its glory and power." The hooded man spoke, as he turned to his enemy. "From what I was told by my superiors, it took you centuries to bring about its birth Dr. Gilles." He giggled. "Not even the philosopher's stone, with all its power, can hold up to this amazing artifact."

Dr. Gilles replied. "That is true, the Ethereal Orb is without a doubt the greatest creation within all of existence." His sword disappeared in a flurry of white particles. He then clapped his hands together before slowly spreading them out. Five balls of light formed in between them, and soon the circled around him, moving at a steady pace.

"That is why I made it, to create the impossible; to have a limitless source of power." His face then took on a persona of rage. "Not to be used as a weapon for you to use as you please!" He yelled out.

The cloaked man just giigled like a child but prepared his weapon. "Well tooooo~ bad. Leader gets what Leader wants."

"How can you call that abomination your 'Leader'," Gilles spat out, "Doy know what atrocities he's committed?!"

"I know, it's like we were meant for each other!" The hooded man joked.

-SLAM-

The hooded man was suddenly hit by a fist. He was able to block it though with the flat of his scythe's blade. But it sent him back several meters into the Etheral Orb's light. He had an amused grin on his face, but that disseapeared when—

-CRACK-

"W-What?" The cloaked man said in shock as he watched his scythe's blade formed small cracks. He glared at Gilles; his eyes went back to scythe before glaring back with twice the wrath. "My scythe... You bastard, you've been holding back!"

"That's correct." Gilles said as he held out his hand with the ball of light still floating ominously inside his grasp. "I was hoping of giving your colleagues a chance to leave this place with your lives, but I seem to have made a mistake about."The other five balls slowly gathered and combined with the one in his hand.

"Because you shall not leave this building; you will not leave this room, and you certainly will not leave with your lives!" He hissed out as he held the newly formed ball of energy over his head. It was much larger than all the others and it seemed to be having trouble keeping its spherical form as it morphed and throbbed, ready to explode.

"Now die, you filthy beast!"

Gilles tossed the ball of pure energy at the cloaked man and it shot off like a rocket. It zigzagged towards him, and though it looked like the missile of power would go off course at times it would immidietly change its course once again so that it aimed at its target.

From beneath his hood, I make out frowning lips and wide red eyes. And as the oncoming bomb came at him I thought this would end the battle. But I have been wrong on many things; this was just one of them. Because just as it was about to make contact with him something rather peculiar happened, his frown soon became a smile.

"Rūkas."

Just as those words left his lips something happened to him. I didn't know what, but it happened. I could tell because instead of the while ball of death making contact with his body, it went right through him. He continued smiling even after it passed him but that smile soon faded back to a frown as he quickly whipped his head around behind him to see the massive ball of energy on route to the Ethereal Orb.

"SHIT!" He as the attack hit; both orbs made contact making a large explosion unlike any other so far. Bodies and chairs were thrown around and/or torn apart. The ignited flames blew out leaving everything in darkness except for the light emanating from the Ethereal Orb; it must still be working, if it wasn't than this place would be absolutely pitch-black.

Everything was quiet as the dust settled down. No one made a sound or made a move. The only thing they did was keep their attention on the very artifact they were fighting for. It finally came into view, and to my surprise and everyone else's, there wasn't a single scratch on it. Which surprised me, since the floor surrounding it looked like a bomb had hit it. But the floor it was placed upon didn't look to be hit what so ever.

"Well, that was close," the hooded man sighed out with relief,"I actually thought that it would break for a seco—"

-CRACK-

Just as he spoke those words, a single, small crack formed on its smooth surface. And soon, the crack spread ruining its magnificence. And from those cracks, small amounts of light began to shine through them.

"…Fuck."

The light in the room grew brighter as the cracks spread letting more light escape. The lights were hot, burning hot actually. They had such a strong intensity that I felt like an ant under a magnifying glass. Everyone else backed up from the Ethereal Orb that, what I could guess, was going to explode. I on the other-hand had no such luck, seeing as I was pinned to the wall by a sword in my chest.

Speaking of being impaled, I was still trying to figure out why I wasn't dead. Because usually getting stabbed through the center of one's chest, which cut through many juicy innards, and severed the spine in two, means an instant death for that poor soul.

My body jerked as pain ran up and down my body. I cried out in shock at the unsuspected agony; more blood began to flow out my mouth and gushed from the wound in my chest. It was so shocking and surprising; it had felt like my insides were being turned to mush from the outside. Everytime I try to cry and scream I could only make a loud gurgling as blood constantly filled my mouth.

And then it all happened so quickly.

**-BOOM-**

A massive—no colossal explosion—exceeding all the others rang out. It was followed by and bright light and a destructive shockwave that sent an assortment of things at me, from furniture to pieces of the dead. They rammed into my body at such a force that I felt like I was being smashed to bits. It last for a good 10 minutes or so. My body was constantly being battered from the onslaught of projectiles. Oh god did it hurt. That was the only thing that went through my head. My mind repeated that over and over again. It hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt!

The it ended. It was as if some higher force snapped its fingers because it pitied me. I couldn't here a thing; the explosion had probably broken my eardrums. My sight was full of white spots from the sudden brightness so I was currently blinded. All I could feel was pain. Pain, pain, pain.

And that was all my will could take after it took such a beating.

_I wanna' go…_

I have been running through a hellhole that was filled to the brim with corpses and blood. Then I get caught in between some magic fight for some giant orb where I am inadvertently killed for getting in between them. And here I am, slowly dying while choking on my own blood.

My mind has had enough; this was too much for my brain to take. My body is battered beyond use.

_All I want to do is go._

I didn't know where I wanted to go; I just wanted to go somewhere far away from here.

_I want to hide._

I wanted to hide somewhere, so far away; some place these guys could never find me.

_I want power._

Power, any kind of power. Power that I could've used to protect my friends. Power that I could've used to protect myself.

**Do you wish for the [Impossible]? **A voice asked once again. **Do you wish to make what you want reality, even if it means ripping apart Truth and False?** It questioned.** The power mortals sought for and gods fear?**

Yes. I want power.

I feeling welled up inside unlike any other that I had experienced. This feeling washed away all the fear and pain running through my veins. I felt, almost a giddy feeling in my chest. The feeling you get when you are about to do something that shouldn't be done.

I felt… unstoppable… untouchable... nothing could nor would harm me.

**You have accepted what can not be. The laws that have been placed no longer follow you, for you are free to choose your own rules.**

My vision soon began to clear as well as my hearing. But what I heard, I found it very peculiar.

"—WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S USING A FRAGMENT OF IT'S POWER!?" That sounded like the man with the scythe.

"It is true what I say, when the orb exploded, he must have been hit by one of the many fragments." What?

"Speaking of fragments, where the hell are they, I don't see a damn one anywhere?" I heard the scythe man question.

"Unknown."

They began to speak some more, but their voices slowly began to drift away, it was being replaced by this high-pitched whirring noise. My eyelids closed and my body went slack; it was like I was being forced to fall asleep. It wasn't possible to fight, it was just too strong.

"CRAP! He's activated it!" I heard him yell. "Mnemosyne, do something!"

"Και τι πιστεύετε ότι πρέπει να κάνω; Αυτή η δύναμη είναι πολύ πέραν των δυνατοτήτων μου." A woman's voice said in a different foreign tongue. It was obviously condescending whatever she said.

"I don't know! You're the goddess of memories!" He yelled back. "Just… do a thing!"

"Ένα πράγμα;." She said in a questioning manner.

"Yes! A thing! Now do it, before whatever he's doing is done."

There voices were completely lost to me as the whirring noise overtook all other forms of sound. And soon I felt myself leave the plane of the awake. But before I did, I heard that mysterious voice say one last thing; it sounded like a warning.

**Your dreams shall come true. But due keep in mind, that nightmares are dreams as well.**

All things went black.

* * *

Dictionary translations.

Greek:

Ηλίθιος = idiot

Και τι πιστεύετε ότι πρέπει να κάνω; Αυτή η δύναμη είναι πολύ πέραν των δυνατοτήτων μου = And what do you think I should do? This power is far beyond my capabilities.

Ένα πράγμα = one/a thing.

Lithuanian:

JUODA GAISRO AVARIJOS ŽEMYN = BLACK FIRE CRASH DOWN.

Įsakau tau uždarytas tuštumą kurioje turėjau pasakė Atidarykite tavo duris savo lobius viduje = I command you to shut the hollow where I had said to open your doors to its treasures inside.

Rūkas = fog/mist.

Latin:

Platea albus draco = Bleach white dragon.

* * *

**Finally, the first chapter of "Faker" is finally complete. You have no idea how long it took to make this it has over 9000 words. Really, no bullshitting! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed, because if you didn't then go die in a ditch. This took me too long to make. The second chapter shall come out half-passed whenever the hell it does, so stay tuned for this amazing story!**

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	2. Chapter 2

****Yes! The second chapter of Faker is up, I am super duper excited! HUZZAH! I'll have you know tight now that this chapter (And all the others won't be as long as chapter 1. I mean really, do you expect me to write over 10,000 words for each chapter!? I don't know about you, but I would like to have fingers by the end of this.****

****Any who, the second chapter starts. I COMMAND YOU TO ENJOY IT!****

**Beta: Performed by Undying Soul98.**

****Chapter 2: ******Fiction and Reality**

* * *

When one usually wakes up from a long nap, they tend to feel a little drowsy. Sometimes it takes their brain a moment or two for it to kick into full-gear. And by that time, a good ten minutes had already passed.

For me it was as if I had woken up from a hangover.

"Uuuuuuugggggghhhhh…my head." I groaned as I simultaneously gripped my head and curled up into a tight ball. God, my head was pounding like a drum! "What did I do last night?" I mumbled. Wearily, I opened my eyes and hissed at the bright light that came shining into them. Ah! The light! It Burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrns!

I rubbed my eyes a few times before my eyes managed to adjust to the incoming light. I seemed to have been laying in an alley on the dirt ground. Dear god; I repeat, what the hell did I do last night? Seeing as laying around on ground wasn't going to do me any good, I decided the best course of action would be to get up.

After a couple moments of trying to get up only to stumble back to the ground, I was able to shakily make it back up to both feet. I finally realized how messed up I was; my body was aching and rather stiff. Especially my chest. It felt like someone socked me right in the chest as strong as they could.

Something else was wrong, I didn't know what though. I felt different, like I was changed. Now that I thought about it, I felt a little shorter. Everything I was looking at looked a little higher up in my peripheral vision; I didn't know if it was just my thumping head and me or it was something else.

I noticed that I had somehow been put in a new set of clothing; it was nothing special. Just a pair of brown shorts, a black shirt, and a red hoodie. How the heck did I get changed into this? I sighed as I dusted off all the dirt specks from my(?) clothes. My head was hurting too much to figure this all out right now.

I was just about to leave this alley and find out where I was; probably go to the closest CVS and buy something for my raging headache, but I was quickly stopped. Something on the ground had caught my eyes. I studied it in confusion and curiosity because something like that shouldn't be here. I reached down and plucked it off the ground so that I could study it a little closer.

The item was a finely carved wooden plaque that had the shape of a pentagon. It was rather large, being so big that I was just able to curl my fingertips around it. Carved into one side was a 'X' shape, in the centre of it was a rather angled and cartoonish skull.

I'd recognize this emblem anywhere. It was the combat-pass used by substitute Soul Reapers in Bleach. This was one of the most well known symbols of the anime. I was planning on buying a replica online, but I never got the chance to.

__But this one doesn't look like a something off of the assembly line, it looks more like something someone carved. __I thought, rather impressed that someone had the capability to carve something as good as this. __Whoever did this must have very good wood carving skills. __I wish I could greet the lady or gentleman who made this and shake their hand for this job-well-done.

"I could've used his help bunches of time, especially during a convention." I muttered while running my fingers over its smooth surface. "Especially during the full-."

-TH-THUMP- -TH-THUMP- -TH-THUMP- -TH-THUMP-

"ACH!" I gave a startled cry as a aching pain coursed through my head. It was like my headache increased in level from 'Pain in the ass' to 'Ain't that a bitch', which was really bad. It was so bad that I was reduced to going down on one knee just so I wouldn't fall over. I hissed as the headache went down slightly but was still there.

I felt as if someone had taken a chisel and mallet and took apart of my brain, because what I was trying to remember was gone. I tried to remember what I was thinking but doing seemed to only make the headache worse.

"God damnit." I muttered through clenched teeth, as the throbbing soon dulled away into a soft but irritating thump. "Where's an Advil when you need it?" I rhetorically asked. And it was obvious where it was, not here where I clearly needed it. It took me a moment to stagger back to both feet, but when I did I decided I was sick and tired of being in this alley.

I walked out from the alley with the badge replica gripped in my right hand. Each step caused my stiff body to move. And as soon as I stepped out of it, my eyes looked upon the road and my ears were filled with the voices of many people.

The first thing I noticed coming out were the people that walked along the dirt road, either conversing with each other or walking across the street to do what they were going to do. The many houses, stores and other building were made of stone bricks with wood. And with the sun blazing down the way it was, it was not very comfortable.

So now that I was aware of the knew territory I was in, a single thought could only pop into my brain.

_Just what the FUCK ___did___ I drink last night? Poison or something?_

Honestly, I wasn't that bad of a alcoholic; I would have a beer or two once in a while, and get a slight buzz. But besides that, I've never been blackout drunk before. The only time I've ever really gotten drunk was when Johnson goaded me into a drinking contest. And after I spent the rest of the night leaning over the toilet, I decided that alcohol wasn't for me.

"Damn you Johnson, you psychotic pyromaniac." I grumbled out. Of course I would blame him, that bastard of a human being was the most alcohol-crazed of us all, and what he enjoyed second-most to fire, was getting everyone else drunk. So really, he was the only one I could think to blame. "Just how the heck did he do it?" I tried to remember just how it happened, but that only brought my headache back so I quickly stopped.

"Well, the best way to figure out just where I am, is to ask the people." I told myself while nodding my head. So without further adieu, I walked up to a street vendor selling an assortment of fruits. "Excuse me, could you tell me where I am right now?" I asked the middle-aged man.

All he did was groan in annoyance. "Look kid, your In Shells Town." Ok, Shells Town; where the hell was that? The name did sound familiar though. Actually, this town looked eerily familiar now that I had gotten a good look at it.

"Ok, and where exactly is Shells Town?" I asked only to receive a groan again in response. This guy was really starting to piss me off.

"It's in the Yotsuba Island region." I gave him a blank stare. "Ok kid, since you've been living under a rock your entire life, I'll spell it out for you. Shells Town is the location of the Marine's 153rd Branch, and is located in the East Blue. Now please, go away." He shooed me away, but that didn't work. I was glued to the spot, still trying to comprehend what he just uttered.

"W-what!?" I said a little louder than usual. Yotsuba Island region? East blue? "E-east blue!?" I squeaked with wide eyes. This man was obviously crazy, because what he was implying was darn right impossible! There was no way that the before mentioned location _actually_ existed! That would be implying that I was in the East Blue, a region of ocean found in the anime One Piece, which didn't actually exist."You got to be kidding me!?"

"NO! I'm not!" he growled out loudly while facing me; he was trying to glare holes in my head but I was to distracted with my shock. "If you really don't believe me then look up there!" He yelled while pointing upwards toward a large building that had caught my sight earlier, just as I had made my way out of the alley. And when I brought my full attention upon it, I could only gape at the structure; I had recognized it quite easily.

When I had first woke up in the alley, I had realized that the ground had been slanted slightly. That meant that this town was built on a hilly area. But really, I didn't think much of it; I thought it was an insignificant factor, but now I'm not so sure about that anymore. It was actually playing a big part in as to how I knew what this place was.

As the very apex of this town, right at the top, was a building that was probably larger than any structure in this town. It was an odd building to look at, probably the most awkward building I had ever laid my eyes upon.

The structure was large, and shaped like a volcano; it was coloured a dark blue with a darker shaded camouflage pattern on it. Flanking the cylindrical tower were more buildings on each side, that had a far more normal shape than the blue one. To finish it off, they were all surrounded by menacing, stone walls, with a pair of massive, iron gates.

I really didn't pay attention to that though; I was more at the large words printed upon the tower and gates.

The sole word was 'Marines'.

It became hard to breathe…

_No…_

This feeling; it was like the world had come crashing down on my shoulders, as if I was Atlas himself and had finally let my grip on the sky slip...

_This…this is physically impossible!_

Not impossible, improbable… bad fanfic improbable...

_OH GOD!_

As the merchant went back to his many goods, I was left there trying to keep my breathing under control, but I was failing quickly. Sweat poured down my face; it wasn't from the sun's blazing, heat. It had accumulated as soon as ideas formed into my head as to where I was. And I prayed to god that I was wrong.

But I knew praying of any sort would do nothing, because I already knew where I was. I really was in the Yotsuba Island region. My current location was the Marine's 153rd Branch, which is located in Shells Town. This town was located in the East blue.

That meant…

_I'm in the One _Piece _universe…_

That single, fleeting thought caused an abundant of emotions to flow through my body, each one I was easily unable to control. My body shook, my forehead became slick with perspiration and my hands became wet with sweat. I felt extremely faint. I honestly didn't know what to do; I mean, who would know what to do in a situation like this!?

Then a feeling came to me; it was a feeling of clarification. A massive adrenaline rush then quickly swallowed up the former. So I ran. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me to the supposed Marine base of its 153rd branch. Because if this place was really Shells Town, then that meant that a rather important person was here.

All thoughts stopped circulating in my skull as I charged up the hill to the large army base.

* * *

_Got to keep going! Got to keep going! Got to keep going!_

My body worked like a well-oiled machine as I made my way up the hill at full power. I rushed as fast as I could to the oddly shaped building as if it were my final lifeline. In a sense, to me that is, it was my final lifeline. This moment might just tell if my life was over, or if I finally lost a few screws.

So I kept running; even if my body was begging to stop advancing (Which it was). I had to keep moving forward.

"Come on…*huff*…just a…*huff*…a little…*huff*…further." I managed to say through ragged breaths. I was starting to tire from the constant running toward my destination. Though in my defence, I had been running up hill the entire time in a full sprint for the past 10 minutes. But that wasn't the point; the point was that I was almost at my destination. "Almost…there!" I grunted out as my running soon deformed into an unsteady jog.

My enduring paid out, because after a few more steps I was finally at the top. I should have been admiring the view of the massive, Marine base in all its glory, but I was hunched over with both my hands on my knees trying to catch my breath.

__Ok, maybe it wasn't the best idea to run up here so quickly. __I berated myself with a deadpanned face. But that soon morphed into a look of determination. __But I had to; this is a really important moment! __I told myself with hardened eyes. So after I regained my breath, I stood up at my full-height and stared at the building that would decide the truth about my future.

I walked up to the so-called 'Marine Base' and stood in front of the imposing wall of rock that had to be at least 11-feet tall. I traced my hands along its rough surface; it was real. I cracked both my knuckles, before taking a deep breath to prepare myself for what I was about to do next.

__I should have taken rock climbing when Michael offered to show me. __I thought, now regretting not taking up my friend's past offer. But that didn't mattered, what mattered was I was going to climb this wall! __If I'm correct, then he has to be here also. __Though that might have been incorrect, as I didn't even know what the date was. _Ok, here I go!_

I dug my fingers into the large grooves in the wall, before pulling myself up with a grunt. The moment I was off the ground I placed the tips of my shoes into the grooves and pulled myself up the wall again. I repeated this again and again as I scaled the wall. And finally, not even five minutes in, I was at the top. I clung to the wall as I peaked my head over the wall, my eyes scanned over the large, deserted courtyard. I searched for the certain target that I had been looking for.

My search didn't take that much longer; as soon as I had set my eyes on this area, my eyes quickly centred upon the only person in there. All my breathing functions stopped and my eyes dilated; it took all of my willpower not to just let go of the wall and fall off. Why?

Because I knew this person, even though we never met before!

He was tied to makeshift, wooden cross. He was a tall, muscular man with lightly tanned skin. He wore black trousers that were tucked inside black boots, a plain white shirt with a green haramaki. To finish off his look, he wore a black bandana knotted on his head that cast a shadow over his eyes. Beneath the bandana, I could see sideburns that were coloured green, showing that he rather strange hair.

The man looked to be in bad shape; he had cuts and bruises all of his body. He also looked a little skinny, like he had been left out there for days on end without anything to eat!

But really, that didn't matter really in my head; the person's identity, that's what was important to me right now, because I knew the identity of this prisoner.

His name was Roronoa Zoro, the soon-to-be first mate, as well as the swordsman, of the Straw Hat pirates. A group of pirates whose combined bounties equals 800,000,050 berri. My eyes almost bulged out of my head as I stared at the "moss-head" with shock, fear, and awe. I was on the verge of hyperventilating myself into the peaceful world of the unconscious when a deep, menacing voice spoke to me.

"Hey, you." I looked down to see Zoro giving me an evil glare from beneath his bandana. "You're annoying me." I stared into his eyes without taking a breath. "Piss off."

I don't know why, maybe it was from shock of my location at the moment, or possibly just Zoro's intense glare, but at that moment my fingers lost all their grip on the wall and the next thing I knew I had quickly fell to the ground on my back with a rather loud –thump-.

No reaction was made once it was over; I didn't cry out in pain or just curl up into a ball in hopes of finding a way to deal with the considerable pain coursing through my body. All I did was stare up into the sky unblinkingly. Though at this time, a small thought was able to squirm its way into my head in my zombie-like state.

__I really am in the One Piece universe…huh.__

I really wanted to blame someone right about now.

* * *

****Yes, the second chapter is done. The third chapter will have more action; he Patrick will meet Luffy and Coby and then a fight will go on, yay! This chapter was read over by Undying Soul98, please go and read his stories too, for they are a butt-load of awesomeness! Anyways, BYE BYE!****


	3. Chapter 3

****Hey there everybody, how ya doin!? This is the 3********rd******** installment of Faker. This chapter will have things kicking up a little; meaning that Parker will meat Luffy and stuff. Maybe I'll even be able to fit in the fight with axe hand douchebag and stuff. Let's find out in this next chapter! Starting now!****

****Beta: Performed by Undying Soul98****

****Chapter 3: Meeting the Main Character****

* * *

I walked-no- I stumbled down the streets like a zombie. Each step I took was slow and off-balanced; sometimes I would bump into people who would either let out an accusing 'Hey!' or at least level a glare at me. It's not like I cared though. It had been an around an hour after my world had come crashing down around me, and frankly, I felt like I had every right to be acting the way I was now.

After, laying there in shock for a good couple of minutes, I thought it best to high tail it away from the Marine army base, combat-pass replica still in hand. But I didn't run like I did previously; the pace I took was slow and stumbling to prevent me from falling. The shock of my entire situation had caused me to go catatonic or something, since in my opinion this was a natural reaction for any person in the position I was in. I was surprised I was even able to move in my present condition.

I wasn't just going to sit there at the base like a dog waiting for its master. Just because Zoro, one of my favourite characters, was there right before my eyes didn't mean I was going to stay by him! Zoro was a dangerous guy no matter how you look at it! Those OC fanfiction stories that think they can just easily get along with him like that are stupid as hell! He's dangerous pirate hunter for god's sake!

So that is how I ended up where I was now, walking aimlessly through the streets of Shells Town: lost, confused, and practically on the verge of loosing my mind.

Compared to the anime, everything seemed so much more… well, different. Unlike the anime, which was an animated drawing, this was _real_. Everything had so much more colour and was much more detailed. The ground was real, the houses were real, and the people were real. In a sense it was beautiful; if I wasn't in so much shock I would've really loved it here.

Sadly, I was in shock.

_Speaking of crappy fanfictions…I wonder what an otaku would give to be in my shoes? __Probably an arm, a leg, and the blood of a virgin. _I gave a depressed chuckle and at that thought. __But in all seriousness, this is ridiculous. __I liked fanfictions, don't get me wrong. I just found insert fanfics to be a vain form of wish fulfilment for the author and a waste of time for the reader.

_I mean, it's all the same thing. A girl gets transported into an anime, then, they ___somehow___ get a male character to fall in love with them, that shouldn't be able to in the first place. __Seriously, if you're going to make a fanfiction like that, at least make it more realistic! I___t was even stated by Oda that most main characters weren't going to find any love! __That was true, I've done my research!

Speaking of research, I had to find out how I even got here. That question was an enigma on an entirely different level of confusing. How was I even going to figure something like this out!? I was smart, there was no doubt about that, but even this escapes me!

__Come on brain, how did I get here? __I asked myself rhetorically, pondering just how I ended up in this cruel twist of fate in the first place. __There has to be a reason; what happened that caused me to go flying into a completely different universe!? __I scanned through every piece of information in my brain in hopes of finding the answer to this complex equation. My brain was being stubborn though; it was similar to almost remembering something that was just out of reach. But then after some time longer, I finally remembered. __Wait! I remember! It was those-!'__

-THU-THUMP- -THU-THUMP- -THU-THUMP- -THU-THUMP-

"GOD DAMN!"

I was glad that I had wondered off onto a side street where nobody could see me, because as soon as I remembered what had occurred, the terrible headache returned with double the force it had previously. I fell to the ground holding my head grunting and crying at the absolute pain flowing through my body; it was as if someone had inserted my head in a vice and was slowly applying pressure to my skull.

"…Pl-PlEase stop-p-p…no…m-oRE." I was just able to grunt out in small whisper. Every function in my body seamed to be slowly failing; I could hardly breath and my body made constant jerking motions as if I was having a seizure. My sight was full of many black spots that consumed my vision. I was terrified that I was somehow going to die, but as soon as it came, it left.

"*gasp*!" the very first thing I did was take in a huge gulp of oxygen before I was reduced to a coughing mess. Though I wasn't in pain any more, what just happened had really taken a toll on me. Beads of sweat ran down every inch of my body and I felt exhausted from the whole ordeal. It really took a lot out of me.

"This-*gasp*-was just like-*cough*-earlier." I managed to say through gasps and coughs while remembering the earlier event that had sent me to the ground in a similar fashion like this. "What the hell was that?" it was like every time I tried to think about what had happened that headache would appear and stop me from knowing. Was it some kind of trigger to deal with a traumatic memory; that meant whatever happened to must have been horrifying? "Well I'll just add that to my list of many unanswered questioned." I muttered out as I got back up with a sigh.

I winced a little, as the throbbing in my head was still there. It was minuscule compared to what had just happened, so I manned up an decided to deal with it instead of just bitching about the ordeal. I continued walking forward, though not at the same wobbling pace then before; that little bit of mine really woke me up.

I had taken the combat-pass from my pocket and gripped it tightly in my right-hand to calm myself down. It was sorta' a habit I had; I would grasp onto things in hopes of helping myself keep calm. It was a weird habit, but it was my habit none-the-less.

After I felt my ever-quickening heart beat slowly crawl back to a natural pace, I decided that it would be the best time to actually get moving again. There were many other things I had to deal with now besides how I got here, like what I was going to do now?

__Zoro is still here, so at least I now know just when I am in the anime.__That was an important factor that I was glad I _knew. ___Now I could just wait for Luffy and Coby to come, but that could take to long. __My brow furrowed as I tried to think of what I was going to do now. __Actually, why am I waiting for Luffy in the first place? __I asked myself in confusion while walking back in the more crowded streets. __I mean, I don't see any reason in staying to wait for him; I could probably just take get a ride on the next boat off of here. __That was true, I could do that. I guess the only reason that thought came to mind was simply because that was what every other character did in the fanfictions I've read.

_Do I really even want to join Luffy's crew?_

I let that simmer for a bit. Did I even want to join his crew; there were benefits I suppose. I could go on an adventure, save people, find the One Piece, probably find a devil fruit and get some super powers. Though the thought of the danger of dying practically on every adventure didn't sit well with me.

Maybe I could start my own pirate crew. I'm sure that it wouldn't be that difficult to do it. I could look around from island to island and find people to join me; it would probably take some time to find a ship but I could probably do it. Though I don't think I'm really all for the leader role, it was too much trouble for someone like me to handle.

"Just great, what am I supposed to do now?" I asked while my grip tightened again on the combat-pass. "I'm stuck here on this island, with no way of getting off. And for all I know, Luffy could still be on Dawn Island." Again with Luffy! I had to make up my mind, was I going to join his crew or am I going to do something else? I looked up to the sky before reigning in my emotions; I spoke in a tired tone. "God, just give me a sign."

That sign came in the form of an annoyingly high-pitched voice that made me want to tear off my ears.

"Luffy you're out of your mind if you think the right thing to do is to get this guy to join your crew!"

"Well I haven't made my mind up yet; I have to see if he's a good guy."

"HE'S IMPRISONED BECAUSE HE'S OBVIOUSLY NOT!"

My attention was soon brought to said annoying voice that was further down the street behind me. It had come from a duo; I was sure it had come from the far-younger boy. When I saw them my face was marred with a frown of disbelief and a single, raised eyebrow. I stared at them for a moment only letting a single quote pass through my lips.

"Well fuck me sideways."

A great quote indeed, for such an unusual situation.

Walking towards me were the two characters I had been looking for, Monkey D. Luffy and the Whiney Brat Coby.

Luffy looked just as I expect; he was goofy and constantly smiling. Just as in the anime he had short, black hair as well as a scar under his left eye. Just like in the anime, he wore a red vest and blue shorts. His most valued item finally finished off his appearance, which was the straw hat upon his head.

His companion was Coby, and honestly if I hadn't seen the 'Water 7 arc' I would have never guessed this short, scrawny, pink-haired boy in glasses was going to become such a different person; to think he would become a lieutenant, and soon a captain of the marines. I stared at both of them as they kept on their merry way to meet Zoro.

I watched as Luffy went up to a merchant selling pears. He greedily grabbed one and took a giant bite out of it before tossing some coin to the merchant and nonchalantly asked "Hey, do you know where some Zoro guy is around here?"

It was rather amusing to watch all the citizens of this town suddenly jump away from the duo in fear. Some had even jumped behind stalls or simply disappeared from sight. They stared at them as if they were a plague.

"Maybe we shouldn't say Zoro's name around here." Coby whispered to Luffy with about as much subtleness as an elephant walking on a tightrope. Luffy nodded to him before they continued on their journey upward. Just as they passed me, I had regained control of shock and went back to thinking; I had been doing that a lot this day.

__Ok…well that was a surprise. __My eyes drifted to their shrinking forms. __What do I do, follow them, or find a way to get off this rock? __I thought with squinted eyes. Really, this wasn't that hard of decision to make; it wasn't like I was questioning whether to follow him on his journey and-yada-yada-yada-One-Piece.

"Oh what the hell, it might just be worth it." I mumbled as my legs carried after the 2 odd characters. This was either going to keep me entertained or get me killed, judging on future events that is.

I jogged toward them before stopping just out of range of their notice; the thought of me being framed as a creeper was not on my ta-do list. As I followed them from behind I heard their continued conversation.

"Let's head to the base and check it out; you wanna' be a marine right?" Luffy said as they headed in the direction in the base.

"Well of course I do Luffy, but I don't just think I'm ready yet." He said barring down on himself. Kid has serious issues. "From what I heard the man in charge of this base is captain Morgan!" he spoke the faggots name with glee. It turned to shock as each person around them jumped away from them once again with a yelp.

They continued on up with confusion as I tagged along behind them. Unlike my first trip up to the base, hadn't taken a look around the settlement that that surrounded the blue structure. But as we passed I got a good look. The streets had become scares with people and eerily quiet. I guess it has to do with the rain of spoon-arm and his ability to execute them if somebody stands out of line.

And suddenly, and completely unexpectedly, Luffy burst out laughing. What made him suddenly laugh after his ten-minute hike up here was beyond my sane mind. This action nearly made me jump and it sent his nerdy companion skyward a few inches. Jumpy little bugger isn't he. Loudly, Luffy said. "Man! This town is such a weird place!" before falling back into laughter.

"Well that was odd. I mean, I could understand everyone being scared of Zoro, but why did they flip when I mentioned Morgan's?" he said confused.

__Here! __I mentally shouted. This was the perfect chance, if any, for me to make myself know to the duo! Then, slowly but surely, I could earn their trust. Don't know where that will get me though; maybe a way off this island when Zoro and Luffy leave. Before I spoke, I mentally prepared myself; who wouldn't when meeting one of their favourite anime characters?

"I seems you guys don't know." I said just loud enough for them to here me. They turned around to look at me, probably not expecting my presence. "You guys must not be locals like me." I said while scratching the back of my head while pretending to act as if I had to come to some kind of revelation. I was always good at acting; well, just bullshitting in general.

"Wadya' mean?" Luffy said with a raised eyebrow. Even Coby looked interested in my words. Yes! Hook line and sinker.

"Well apparently, from I learned that is, the captain of this base acts like some kind of tyrannical ruler." Luffy looked a little surprised but Coby's face had taken on a look of shock. "He basically threatens to execute anyone that disobeys his orders."

"WHAT!?" Coby said in disbelief.

"Wow, that sounds really bad." Luffy said while…picking his noes. This one has a lot of tact.

"Yeah, it also doesn't help that the guy's son goes around threatening to execute everyone that does something he doesn't like either." I said frowning at the memory of Helmeppo. While I admit that he did turn his leaf over later in the series, this Helmeppo was a giant ass.

Coby responded with "What, are you sure!? I mean, captain Morgan is a marine captain. He can't be like that." Oh bless this idiot's heart. "He can't be doing stuff like that?"

"Well guess what, he is." I told them while scratching my spiky hair. "If you want proof, look at the locals; they looked more terrified of Morgan's name than Zoro's." I told them with a leveled stare. That wasn't a real judgement, I was simply basing that off of their jump radius earlier when they all freaked out. "Plus, have you taken a look around you?" I said.

"Huh, is there something here?" Luffy questioned while looking around.

"Yeah, I don't get what you're saying?" Coby followed up. They were turning their heads around quickly to try and find just what I was pointing out. Guess I must' point it out for them.

"Haven't you noticed the lack people here?" I finally said.

"Now that you mention it, where is everyone?" Coby said while repositioning his glasses higher up his nose. "It's like a ghost-town."

"Maybe everyone just got tired and decided to go to sleep." Luffy interjected with his idiotic answer.

"Luffy, I don't think everyone would just decide to go to sleep all at the same time." Coby sighed out, obviously fed up with the stupidity of his friend.

"Hey, it could happen."

"Look that's not the point. The point I'm trying to make here is that Morgan isn't that good of a guy." God these two were…they weren't just stupid, they were...advanced stupid. Now that's an completely different circle of hell. It was like Navi herself had met up with Tingle and had a love child. "He's got all the locals scared stiff around here."

"Hey, you're not from this town are you?" Coby deduced. How he didn't figure it out earlier I don't know, since I mentioned it several times before.

"Nope, I just got here today by ship." I told them while trying to come up with the perfect cover up story. "I was actually heading up to the marine base to see the pirate hunter Zoro that was recently imprisoned."

"Really, we are to!" Luffy said loudly with a smile. "Why don't you come with us!?" He asked. I took a fake thinking pose even though I had already made up my mind.

"Sure why not." I answered while walking forward once again. They began following from behind me as they tried to keep up.

Luffy appeared on my left a little to close for comfort. "By the way, my names Luffy; over there's Coby." I saw Coby give a small wave to me at mention of him. "What's your name?" he asked with his usual idiotic smile.

"My name is Patrick, Patrick Falso." I said plainly. I had quickly contemplated whether I should tell them my real name or not, but I realized that would only cause more problems later on if I even tried that. "So why exactly are you guys going to see Zoro anyway?" I asked with a raised eyebrow try to look curious.

"I'm going to make Zoro apart of my pirate crew!" He said excitedly with his massive signature grin.

"Wow, ain't that neat." I said trying to look surprised in anyway possible. I was absolutely failing on that part, but it didn't seem like Luffy noticed. I turned to Coby and asked. "So are you apart of his crew or something?" I asked.

"Oh no, I could never be a pirate; I don't have the guts to do that." He said with a smile that lacked any form of self-esteem. "But I plan on joining the Marines as soon as I'm strong enough!" he said determinedly.

"Huh, well ain't that nice." I said. Damn, I have to sound more happy and convincing; this terrible acting on my part. My attention was quickly brought forward as we had finally arrived at the marine base. "Eyes forward, we're finally here." I told them as we stood in front of the marine base. I was about to speak again, until I heard…crying?

"I finally made it." Coby cried out with snot and tears dripping from his face while using his forearm to rub it away. It was so sudden that I honestly stepped back a little at the shock. Jesus, the kid wasn't crying 5 seconds ago; does he have some kind of disorder or something? "This is where you and I part ways Luffy, we didn't have long together but…" His bitching was cut off at the sound of grunting. We both looked back at Luffy, who was slowly climbing the wall.

"Where's the foothold?"

"GET DOWN FROM THERE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, THEY'LL SEE YOU!"

"This one's a natural born idiot."

Seeing as there was nothing else to do down here, I decided it would be best to get up that wall before anything else happens. So like Luffy, I quickly scaled the wall like earlier.

"OH NOT YOU TOO!" I heard Coby complain as I reached the top. "You guys should get down from there before the marines catch you." I wanted to tell him to suck it up, but I was to busy trying not to fall like earlier.

"Now where's this demon?" Luffy said while searching the courtyard.

"They wouldn't keep him out in the open." Coby said from below "He's a dangerous criminal; he's probably locked away underground somewhere." In all honesty, that should be true. But apparently, people here don't really understand just how to properly hold a prisoner correctly. "Now come on, you guys gotta' get down from there before you get caught!"

"Oh go grow a pair." I told the little brat.

"OH THERE HE IS!" Luffy pointed out to the tied up Zoro in the center of the courtyard. "I'm gonna get closer." He said before hopping down in one leap. Damnit! Why was everyone in this universe so strong!? I mean, I was no slouch; I was very fit. But that kind of endurance and strength was insane!

I carefully climbed back to the safety that was the ground before fallowing after him with one Coby in tow. We found him further down a part of the wall that was closer to the area, already at the top. I didn't even bother to wait at the bottom for a moment and just started to climb the damn thing again.

"Coby look!" Luffy said.

"I'm telling you Luffy, he's not-." Words stopped emitting from Coby's mouth as he climbed up the wall to get a good look at what Luffy was so adamant on him seeing. He obviously wasn't expecting to see the so-called 'Demon', pirate-hunter Zoro.

I wanted to laugh or at least snort at the look on his face, but I knew mine from earlier was probably just as bad as his or worse. But our fears were for different reasons. The reason I was scared was simply because I had realized I was now in a different plane of existence entirely; he was just scared because he thought this guy was a demon.

"Hey, if we untie those ropes he can just walk away."

"OH DON'T BE SUCH AN IDIOT LUFFY! THERE'S NO TELLING WHAT A BANDIT LIKE HIM COULD DO IF YOU LET HIM GO! HE COULD KILL ALL OF US!"

"Oh calm down Coby," I said to the kid. He looked at me with almost pleading eyes, like he was begging me to stop his friend from doing something stupid. "From what I've seen about your friend, something as simple as being caught by the marines isn't going to do jack-shit." Coby hung his head in defeat.

"Hey, you." We looked down to see the Zoro glaring at us; a familiar killing-intent flowed upon me. "You're annoying me. Piss off." He said in a threatening tone.

__Did he seriously, use the same line from before? __I thought with a raised eyebrow. Maybe it was he phrased he learned to say when someone gets a little to curious and decides to come visit him during his not-so-lovely stay here. __Ok, that's weird. But it's not like that's the weirdest thing that happens on this show.__

"YEEEEAAAAEEEEGH!"

And of course, Coby was back to bitching and crying.

He then turned to Luffy "LUFFY, YOU GOT TO BELIEVE ME, NOTHING GOOD WILL COME FROM HAVING HIM ON YOUR CREW!"

And then suddenly, we heard the sound of wood smashing against the rock wall in between Coby and me. A ladder had been placed there, and climbing to its top was a little girl. She shushed the three of us before throwing down a rope and slowly climbed down it.

As Coby cried out for one of us to stop her from getting caught by the marines or getting hurt by Zoro, I was busy off in La La Land waiting for something to actually happen. Because each episode was around 30 minutes long, that meant that everything here was going to happen at a much slower rate. What took 5 minutes for Luffy to go back to town before returning to finally free Zoro would possibly take an hour in real time.

__Meaning that I'm going to be stuck here waiting for things to get going for a good hour or two. __I sighed at that thought. Not that I wasn't patient, I just want this crazy day to finally be over. __Well, let's hope Luffy decides to do something, or it looks I'm going to find some other way to entertain myself.__

My inner jumble of thoughts was stopped at that moment by a high-pitched scream flowing through the air. The only reason I was even listening to it was because it was too girly to be Coby's. I looked up and nearly let go of the wall in shock.

Up in the air was the little girl; this must have been the point in time where that marine soldier literally throws the little girl out of the base. And right now, she was going to go splat on the ground if she was not caught.

_Damn it! Why do I have to have a soft spot for the adorable things in life!?_

I stupidly jumped higher into the air using what little jumping room the walls crevasses provided. Thankfully, the jump had put me directly into the child's path. And as her body made contact with mine, I latched onto her before hugging her to my chest like a motherly gorilla protecting its young.

And then I hit the ground.

_OUCH!_

I had tried to calculate just how much it would hurt, and sadly, I was wrong. It hurt a fuck-ton more than I thought it would.

"GAH!" I said coughing up mucus and other bodily liquids that I was not able to name. Ok, in all honesty, that really hurt a lot. I looked down at the girl in my chest crying and sniffling before letting out a sigh of relief. At least she was ok; so my sacrifice was not in vain.

"Hey are you two ok!?" Coby called out while rushing towards us.

"Yeah." I answered before looking down to the girl. "You ok to kid?" I asked the girl still clinging to my chest. Through the sniffling and crying I was able to get a nod from her. "Good, That's nice." I sighed out while slowly getting up into a sitting position.

__Wait a minute. Wasn't Luffy supposed to do the same thing I did? __I mentally kicked myself. If Luffy was going to do the same thing then what I did was completely stupid. I mean he's of rubber for god's sake! __Well I did, there's no reason to get angry about what you can't change. __I begrudgingly told myself. I carefully pulled the little girl off my chest before setting her down on the ground. She stood there sniffling we tears in her eyes; the scene just made my heart quiver.

"Hey, don't cry." I said trying to imitate a brotherly tone. I softly patted her head as she stared up at me. "That was very brave what you did trying to help Zoro, so you shouldn't go around crying; you should smile and feel proud." I did all this with the kindest smile I could muster. Was I saying the right thing? I've never been in a situation like this sense I'm a only child.

"O-*sniff*-ok." She finally said with and adorable sniff.

I got up with a groan of pain. The dull, aching pain I was getting was moslty coming from my back, which I had landed on.

"Are you ok Patrick, that was a pretty nasty fall you took?" Coby asked me, still worried about the stupid stunt I just pulled.

"Yep, just a little hurt." I told him while twisting my body around gaining several relieving pops from my back. I was about to say something else when I realized something was missing. "Hey Coby, we seem to be one idiot short." I said while looking around for Luffy.

"What the-where did he go!?" Coby said in shock at his missing friend.

"He probably went over the wall to see Zoro." I concluded. That was what he did after this, right? "You might want to go check on him before he does something stupid." Though he was probably going to do it anyway.

"What! Oh no this is bad!" Coby cried out while gripping his head. He would have continued panicking if it were not for Luffy jumping back over the wall. "Luffy!" Coby cried out running over to him. "What did you do!? What were you thinking!?" Luffy just laughed at his friend's panicked state.

"Oh nothing, I was just talking Zoro; I still haven't decided if he should join my crew or not." He said with a laugh. Luffy then brought his attention onto me with a grin. "By the way that was really cool what you did there Patrick." He said talking about my little stunt.

"Yeah, jumping off a 11-foot tall wall was really cool." I muttered under my breath sarcastically. This world, it was not meant for people like me. "So what are you gonna' do now?" I asked him curiously. Whatever happened at this part wasn't shown in this episode, so I was a little curious.

"What I think we should do is take her home." Coby said grasping the shaken girls hand. "Her parents must be worried, and who knows what'll happen if we stay here with the marines." He said worriedly.

"Yeah, let's go back into town." Luffy said while patting his stomach, which let out a loud growl. "I could really go for some meat!" He cheered with a small amount of drool crawling down his lower-lip.

_And like always, he misses the point. _I knew he was an idiot in the anime, but this is taking it a little to far. He has to have some kind of brain in that noggin of his. I saw that in my quick thinking the small group had begun to walk away back to town. Luffy turned back to me.

"Hey! Are you coming Patrick!?" He asked.

I thought about my answer. "Y'know what, I'll just stay here." I told them. He was going to come here later, might as well stay and wait for him here. "I'll see you later then."

"Bye Patrick! See you later!" Luffy said as they walked back to town. I stood there watching their disappearing forms for a moment before they were finally out of sight. I sighed before walking to the wall. I sat down by it and leaned my aching back against it. God was I tired. Not just physically, but mentally also. Today was the most exhausted I have ever felt.

And right now, I just needed to close my eyes, and rest.

I did just that, eye let my eyelids close and let my breaths fall into a rhythmic motion. And not long after, I was asleep, preparing for the chaos that was soon to come.

* * *

****Yes! 3rd chapter is done! Now I know I promised that I would have a battle happen in this chapter, but there was just so much stuff happening that I have to now postpone it for the next one, sorry. Anyways. Stay tuned for the 4********th******** chapter that will come out whenever the hell it does! Nigris Out!****


	4. Chapter 4

****Hello everyone I am back! Now that the 4********th******** chapter is here, we can get the ball rolling at a much faster rate than before! I plan to make this fic unlike all the other ones, meaning that some of the usual one piece insert things that happen in this fic aren't going to really happen in here; won't that be so fantastatical…fantfi…fintl…fant-FUCK IT! Anyways, let's get this shindig thingy on the road!****

****Chapter 4: A Detested Power****

* * *

I enjoyed my nap undisturbed for quite some time. It had to have been at least an hour or so before I awoke. I was thankful that no marines were out patrolling the gates or I would've been in deeper shit than I already was today, though the only problem I had was staying asleep against the rather uncomfortable wall. Lets just say tat the way I was positioned against it didn't exactly do very much for my aching back. I, fact, I must've messed it up pretty bad when I fell.

Anyways, my light sleeping was interrupted by the sound of footsteps, alerting me to the fact that someone was coming. I wasn't particularly worried, I already knew who it was. My eyes opened and I saw Luffy and Coby walking my way just as I predicted, with everything going to plan.

With a loud yawn (And a greatly suppressed urge to perform the Gendo Pose), I slowly got to my feet while wincing as the pain in my back intensified slightly. After doing a quick stretch, I made walked over to the duo.

"Hey you two." I greeted them.

"Patrick?" Coby said with a little surprise. "What are you still doing here?" He questioned.

"Well, I did plan on going back to town, but I was a little tired so I decided to take a quick nap over there." I said pointing to the exact area on the wall where I had just been. "What about you, what are you doing here?" I asked even though I knew the answer to the question.

Coby started his sentence with a "Well we-." but he was cut off by Luffy whose voice was much louder than his meek one.

"I've decided, that I'm goin' to make Zoro apart of my crew." The sentence was simple, but I could here the harsh determination and confidence mended into each word.

"Oh yeah?" I said, I questioned while looking surprised. "So you plan on breaking Zoro out, and escaping from the marines all on your own?" He nodded. Now let's see what else I can do here. "Well you are planning to be a pirate, so following the laws isn't really one of there things." I said with a grin. "And what about Morgan? From what I've heard he's pretty damn strong." That giant split the ground with just one swing of his arm; he was motherfucking strong! Admittedly not as monstrous as those in the Grand Line, but still strong!

"I'll beat him up then." He said confidently.

"Uh huh? Well, do you mind if I tag along too?" I said keeping my grin. I don't know what got me to say those words. I mean, it's not like I could actually fight. I could possibly take out a few of the weaker officers but there is no way that I was capable of taking on someone like Morgan. I'd rather leave him to Luffy.

"You are, why?" Coby asked confusedly.

"I'm sick an tired of watching all these people being tormented by Morgan." That wasn't entirely true, I was also bored out of my mind and wanted to see this fight go down. God I was asshole, but who cares. "Someone has to put an end to what he's doing, and it has to stop now." I said this with a look of determination on my face.

"You wanna' help me free Zoro to! OK!" Luffy said happily. Without warning, Luffy climbed over the wall yet again. I followed after him but Coby decided to stay behind. I couldn't blame him; the only reason I was going into the middle of this fight was because Luffy was here.

It took me a while but I was finally able to scale down the other side of the wall. Once I had both feet on the ground, I turned around to see Luffy already standing in front of the tied up Zoro. There was only one word that could be used to describe Luffy's physical abilities: freakish.

"I'm starting a pirate crew and I'm looking for people to join up." He said while walking towards his future first-mate.

"No way!" Zoro bellowed. "I would never stoop to helping a criminal." He looked downward making his bandana cast a shadow over his eyes. "Pirates are despicable, I would never want to join up with one. Not now, not ever."

"Oh come on! Everyone already knows you as some bloodthirsty bounty hunter always out for blood." Luffy retorted.

"People can say what they want about me, I could care less. But I haven't done a single thing in my life that I regret." He said before an almost feral grin appeared on his face. "I'll make it through this challenge, and then I'll accomplish what I want." He declared proudly. I decided not to get into this conversation and just tried to imagine that corny 80's music that was playing over in this scene.

"Yeeeeaaaaah, that's great and all, but I've already decided that you're joining my crew!" Luffy told him only for Zoro to angrily cry out 'NO WAY!' at his decision.

"From what I here you're one of the best swordsmen around."

"Well I am!" Zoro said proudly. "But that idiot captain's son took mine away." He said dejectedly.

"Then I guess I'll just have to go get them back for you." Luffy told him, making Zoro stare at him in shock. "So if you want your swords back you're gonna' have to join my crew!" Luffy's grin practically took up half of his face; it was the face a person makes when they come up with the best plan ever.

"NOW YOU'RE REALLY PISSING ME OFF!"

Luffy then suddenly ran off, completely ignoring Zoro. The only problem was…he was running in the exact opposite direction of the base. It seems that Luffy just pulled a Zoro.

"Uh, Luffy!" I called out to him. "You're going in the wrong direction!" He turned back to me as I pointed to the large marine base.

"Are you sure?" He asked quizzically as I sweat dropped at his question.

"…Luffy, it says the word "MARINE" in big bold letters on the building; of course it's the marine base." Dealing with Luffy was going to push my patients to the extreme.

"Yeah your right!" Luffy said. "You must be some kind of genius Patrick!"

__Hearing that from him does not make me feel good in anyway possible. __I thought, sighing as I watched him run back towards the base. I quickly lost site of him as he ran to its backside. __Now I just need to wait for him to wreck that statue of Morgan, then we can get finished with this. __My attention was brought to Zoro, who was glaring in the general direction where Luffy had disappeared.__Let's see if I can't make a little small talk here. __I had nothing better to do, so I might as well talk to the guy before Luffy gets back.

"Sorry about Luffy." I apologized to Zoro, whom brought his eyes upon me. Bloody Hell his glare was piercing. Regardless, I held strong and continued forward with my conversation. "He's an idiot, but his heart is in the right place." Zoro just grunted.

"Well that heart is going to get him killed." He huffed angrily which made me snicker.

"You'd be surprised, he's more resilient than you'd think." That was true, the idiot was a human cockroach because of his devil fruit powers. "He might not look strong, but he sure can take a beating."

We settled into an awkward silence that didn't sit very well with me. I could here the voices of the marine soldiers from atop the base; they were yelling, "HEAVE! HO!" each time as they tried to raise the statue to a standing position. From where I was right now, I could just make out the statue's head. If my memory doesn't betray me, when that thing breaks things would finally begin.

"So, are you apart of his crew?" Zoro finally asked while breaking hush atmosphere.

"No." I told him. Like hell I would join his crew! I wouldn't survive on that ship for a week with their bat-shit crazy adventures! I had no amazing ability or devil fruit powers; I'd probably die in the next arc. "I'm just here to see Luffy take down axe-hand." I always did hate things like tyranny…well unless I'm the one doing the ruling. "I really think he can do it."

Zoro scoffed. "That moron; do you see the way he acts? He's probably going to cause more destruction to this town than help." He rebuked.

"Come on, he's not that bad."

-BOOM-

What fallowed was the loud sound of stone breaking. Goody, the statue finally broke.

"SEIZE HIM AND HOLD HIM SO I CAN KILL HIM MYSELF!"

"…I really should watch what I say before speaking." I mumble under my breath.

"Patrick, what's going on? Where's Luffy?" I familiar meek voice asked. I turned my attention to Coby who was scampering towards me as fast as he could.

"Ah Coby good timing." I clapped both hands together. "Long story short, the shit has hit the fan. So help me untie Zoro so we can get out of here before we're gunned down by the marines." I said rather quickly before I moved towards Zoro and began working on the ropes tying his waist to the cross. "Come on Coby, help me out here!" I called out for his help.

So we quickly began to untie him. Well we tried to anyway. If anything, we only made the knots tighter. I didn't want to point fingers, but I blamed Coby because I refuse to take the blames for our deaths because of a stupid knot.

"Listen you two, that maniac Morgan is going to kill you for what you're doing right now." Zoro warned us but I didn't care, gotta' work on dem' knots! "So just get out of here!"

"I can't stand to see the marines doing this." Coby muttered darkly. "A true marine should be honourable." I could here the slight tinge of anger in his voice.

"Look kid I can't leave!" Zoro told him again. "I have ten days left! And then-." Coby cut off the pirate hunter before he could finish his sentence.

"Well not exactly, they're going to execute you tomorrow." Coby said surprising Zoro. "Helmeppo never intended honour your agreement. He planned on killing you from the start! When Luffy heard that he got really angry and so he knocked him out." Coby's words seemed to make Zoro think. But since I wasn't psychic, I had no clue. "And now the marines are mad and are dead-set on catching Luffy."

"Well that gives us an even bigger initiative to rap this up, find Luffy, and get the hell out of here." I told them as I continued trying to free Zoro from his bindings.

But before we could continue on a very bad sound stopped us.

-CLICK- -CLICK- -CLICK- -CLICK- -CLICK- -CLICK-

A chorus of clicks resonated through the courtyard from behind; they made a pit form in the darkest reaches of my stomach. Judging by the fearful faces on both Zoro and Coby, I could easily figure out what that was.

I turned around to see a group of twenty-three marine soldiers; each were dressed in their pristine, white uniforms. In their hands were muskets, and all of them, were sadly aimed at us. But that was only the tip of this brutal iceberg. Because towering behind them was axe-hand Morgan.

I responded in the only reasonable way. "Shit."

__Dear mother of god, what the hell. __I thought with a lowered jaw while staring at the behemoth before me.

He was very tall and muscular, had to be over 6-feet tall. He had blond hair and a steel jaw. His right hand was gone, replaced by a huge steel axe, the handle of which seems to go right through his forearm. He wore a large, billowing coat like a cape that to me, only made him look more intimidating.

In the anime I didn't think that much of him since he was just one of those random bad guys that you usually forget about after a few episodes. But I think that I had to change that mind-set right about now, because this guy's appearance was burnt into my skull, now and forever.

"End of the line!" Morgan bellowed. "For the crime of treason against me, I sentence you three to die where you stand." His deep voice wasn't cruel, or dark, or sinister like other Villains in most anime. It was full of arrogance, but the arrogance one would have if they were strong. I knew that Luffy was going to beat the crap out of them, but there was this irrational fear in my head that made me shake.

__This guy is terrifying. __I thought over Coby's pathetic whimpering. My hand subconsciously slipped into my pocket and pulled out the combat-pass. My grip on it quickly tightened. At the same time, the shaking in my body lessened.

"You've been pulling some interesting moves Zoro! What is this, some poorly planned coup. You three and the straw-hat!?" He questioned at the glaring Zoro.

"I've always fought alone." He stated. "Not like a coward, who hides behind his shield of expendable cronies!" Morgan let out a growl of anger at that jab at his pride.

"Roronoa Zoro, don't you dare underestimate me." Morgan said while gripping the axe attached to his right arm. "You may be a strong fighter, but under my authority, you are just another rat to throw out with the trash."

"TAKE AIM!"

At his call, the ends of their muskets leveled on us. I could feel my heart skip a beat at this. Was I going to die?

"GUM GUM ROCKET!"

"FIRE!"

And thanks to Luffy, we were freed from the fate of becoming Swiss cheese. Just as the bullets were fired at us, the straw-hatted pirate appeared before us with both hand outstretched. I was a little surprised at first, but my memory told me very well what was going to happen next.

The bullets hit Luffy, and instead of punching through his body, they sunk into his skin and seemed to try and continue their directed course. But they suddenly stopped as his rubbery skin was to strong; to me, it looked like he had several spears of skin appearing from his back, arms, and legs. That image soon changed as the bullets were shot back in the other direction.

"SEE YA!" He yelled out with a chuckle. "That won't work on me! I told you I was strong!"

"W-what the, just who are you?" Zoro questioned with disbelief.

Luffy turned back to Zoro with his usual face-splitting grin and said. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy! And I'm going to be king of the pirates!"

Well, that was informative. But that wasn't what I was thinking about, what was on my mind was that I just saw a human, not a anime character or drawing, stretch like rubber! I was momentarily stunned by his devil fruit abilities. I mean, it was completely different from the anime! Real skin and bones, not pencil and animation!

I was thrown out of my panic and awe as the sound of Luffy and Zoro arguing got to me.

"You're going to be king of the pirates!? You must be out of your mind!" Zoro yelled angrily. Why he was angry, I don't know. "Do you have any clue what it means to be king of the pirates?" He questioned.

"Being king of the pirates, means being king of the pirates, what else could it mean?" He said.

"Yeah when he first told me it was shocking, but he's completely serious!" Coby said in a fan-boy manner. "I guess that's just how he is I suppose, 'cus he actually has every intention of becoming the king of the pirates, and obtaining the worlds ultimate treasure the One Piece!" Zoro's face morphed into that one full of surprise.

Luffy giggled at his companion's explanation before taking off three katanas (that had gone unnoticed by since I was still in a slight daze from what just happened.) and held them out to Zoro. There were two black katanas and one white katana.

"Here you go, just as I promised." Luffy said. "I couldn't tell which one was yours so I took all of them!"

"All of them belong to me." Zoro stated while staring at his swords. "I use santoryu, the three-sword style." He stated.

Luffy paused with a audible hum before shoving the swords towards the tied up Zoro again. "Just take them already! Just know that if you do that you'll be a government-defying villain! So it's either, or you can stay here and get killed by the marines execution-style!" Harsh.

"Luffy that was extremely cruel ya know." My words had gone unheard.

"What are you, the son of the devil." Zoro said with a grin. "It doesn't matter, because if I don't choose your side, I'll just end up dead on this cross. So let's do it!" Luffy began to cheer and hop around as he finally got his first crew member.

While this was going on, I idly noticed that the marines were nervously commenting on Luffy's 'freaky' powers. Then Morgan came to the realization that Luffy had eaten a devil fruit, and then began to quickly give an explanation of their 'extraordinary' and 'other worldly' powers. I could care less about that, I was busy waiting for the fight to begin. The anxiety was murder.

"That doesn't matter." Morgan said. "If the guns don't work we CHOOOOOOOP!" He yelled out the last word while raising his axe-mounted arm into the air.

With a roar, the marines came charging at us with their swords drawn. OK, this was bad. These guys were coming at us and we had no way to defend ourselves! Crap-crap-crap! My hands clenched the combat-pass again. What-do-I-do? What-do-I-do!? Luffy was still trying to get Zoro untied and Coby was frozen in place.

__Damn, damn, damn! Think brain! __My brain seemed to be on vacation because no ideas were forming in my noggin. I gripped the pass one last time; my fists probably would've bled if I held it any tighter. __Wait, fists. That's it! __Honest to god, this probably wasn't the best idea, but it was the only good idea I had at the moment that out with us alive.

I pocketed the combat-pass before charging at the marines in a mad dash. I've been in enough fights in college to know how to through a punch; honestly, it was more of a Jessica thing to throw punches, but I've seen her knock out enough people to know how to handle this.

"Patrick! What are you doing!?" I heard Coby shout at me. I would've shouted at myself too if I was in his position; this had to be the most idiotic thing I've ever even tried! These men were trained soldiers prepared for battle, while I was an 18-year old otaku with the knowledge of practically every anime, and not much else. I really doubted I was going to do any damage, but I needed to buy them some time so Luffy could untie Zoro and he could go all badass swordsman on them.

"I'll distract them long enough for you guys to untie Zoro!" I told them as I kept my eyes on the rushing marines who charged at us. I wanted to actually run and just let them handle it, but I just couldn't do that damnit! I was the one who wanted to get into this mess, I could at least try and take responsibility for my actions! "Just make it quick! I can't hold them off for ever!"

There was no more time to speak as the Marines closed in on me. I looked around and ran towards the weakest of the picking, a rather chubby looking soldier. He swung his sword down in hopes of cutting me across the chest, but I dodged to the right and with a curled fist I socked him right in the face with a haymaker. To my shock he didn't timber over, but went flying back a few feet! I wanted to figure out how that happened but I had no time to do something like that.

The next guy came up and swung just like the last; I met him with the same attack, which ended with the same conclusion. __God these guys are weak. __I was actually I little disappointed, these were trained soldiers, they shouldn't be this weak. I should be on the ground dead. I mean really, I was expecting a little m-.

"Whoa!" I just had enough time to dodge out of the way at a sword strike to my head. Ok, so I was wrong, some of these guys are strong. I looked around to see another soldier coming at me with his sword raised. Sadly for me, the same attack wouldn't work again because this guy was like a body-builder, fucking huge. "Crap!" I exclaimed while dodging another of his blows.

When he charged forward with his attack did I make my move. Instead of throwing a punch at his stomach or face I decided to go for one of the tenderest parts on the human body. With the back of my fist, I gave a rough jab at his throat. I watched in satisfaction as the man dropped his sword and fell to the ground holding his throat, he made gagging and coughing sounds.

My satisfaction was short-lived as I felt a fist impact my face throwing me to the ground. I looked up and saw that a marine soldier had punched me in my distracted state. Damn it, they were all closing in on me now! They charged at me with their swords raised ready to strike me down. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my own death happen. But instead of the sound of sword cutting flesh, I heard something else.

-CLANG-

It sounded like to pieces of metal colliding. Similar to two swords striking each other. After a moment of hesitation, I slowly opened my eyes. Standing in front of me was Zoro in a crouching position, in both hands and his mouth were all three of his swords. An to my amazement, and utter shock, he was blocking all the marines swords.

"Make one move and you die." He managed to say threateningly to the marines with a sword in his mouth. In turn, the marines began crying and shaking in absolute terror.

"Scary!"

"H-help us!"

"Mommy!"

"Hey, thanks." Zoro's muffled voice said to me. "If it weren't for that distraction of yours, we would've been in a bunch of trouble." He thanked.

"Uh yeah, no problem." That was the only thing that could escape my lips. I was still a little mesmerized by just how Zoro simply stopped each of the Marines' attacks as if it were nothing. But I soon snapped out of that as I got up and quickly made some distance between the swordsman and me.

"Today, I officially become a criminal, having fought the marines." He said while bringing his sights towards Luffy. "So I'll become a pirate, that I can promise you." He announced. "But just so you know, everyone moment I'm with you, the only thing I'll dedicate myself to is my ambition." His speech was cut off by Luffy.

"And that is?" He questioned.

"To be nothing less than the greatest swordsman." Zoro somehow managed to smile, even though he had his sword between his teeth. "If somewhere along the way I have to give that up, than I want you to except responsibility; after which you get to apologize to me." Zoro laid out his terms and conditions and Luffy just put another smile on his face.

"The worlds greatest swordsman huh? Great! The pirate king wouldn't have anything less than the best on his crew!" He claimed.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, STANDING THERE LIKE STATUES!" Morgan called out enraged. "I WANT YOU TO KILL ALL FOUR OF THEM RIGHT NOW!" The only way the soldiers could reply was to let out small cries of fear.

"Hey! You better duck!" Luffy warned before bringing his leg up and swinging it around, as if to hit a ball in mid-air.

"GUM GUM WHIP!"

I watched as his leg stretched outward in an arc; his arcing leg made contact with all the marines flinging them away from Zoro, who just had enough time to duck out of the way of the attack. Thankfully when I had backed away from Zoro I had also gotten out of the way of the skirmish.

"Just what are you anyways?" Zoro questioned his new captain.

"Me? I'm just a guy who ate the Gum Gum fruit." He answered

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! GET BACK UP, RIGHT NOW!" Morgan called out, finally enraged that his soldier were losing to the four of us. Well, three of us, since Coby isn't helping one bit; I count myself though because I knocked a few of them down. In fear of facing the wrath of their captain, they slowly got to their feet. "NOW FIGHT THEM!" The marines attacked again. Thankfully, the space I made in between me and everyone else was far enough for me to go unnoticed.

Besides it's not like they needed my help. As soon as they came at them again, Luffy and Zoro quickly dispatched them within the second. But they slowly clawed themselves to their feet again, and ran towards them in a stumbling charge of sorts. Not that it lasted long; they were beaten down as soon as they got up.

__I almost feel bad for them.__ I thought as I saw Luffy send a soldier flying. __But they did try and kill us, so only almost. __I took a few steps to the left as a marine went flying over my head and crashed into the marine base. He stuck to the wall for a moment before sliding off and hitting the ground. __Still no sympathy. __I should've been paying more attention to my surroundings, especially to the growing shadow from behind.

"I HAVE HAD IT WITH THIS RIDICULOUS COUP!" MORGAN WAS STANDING BEHIND ME! The worst thing was, he was now glowering right at me! "I AM ENDING THIS RIDICULOUS FIGHT RIGHT NOW, STARTING WITH YOU!" He brought his axe-hand up while gripping the handle sprouting from his elbow. "NOW DIE RAT!" I had just enough time to dive out of the way as his axe came roaring down.

-WHOOSH-

-BOOM-

-CRACK-

I felt the earth rumble as I hit the ground. Dust and small pieces of earth rained down upon my fallen form. After I moment of getting up into a seated position, I looked behind me. I could only gape at what I saw.

Not only had his axe cut through the earth, but also it left massive crevice, at least three meters long! I could only stare at the sheer destruction this giant had left. This guy was one of the weakest people in the anime, right; that settles it, I'm gonna' die! There was no possible way I could ever survive in a world like this!

Morgan hefted his axe from the ground before swinging at me again. My luck wasn't lasting; his second strike nearly took my head off just after I hopped away. I landed head first, causes my vision to blur and my body to momentarily cease function.

I lifted myself onto my arms and legs and my vision swam. I noticed something laying on the ground to my right. It was my combat-pass; it must've fallen out of my pocket when I dodged. I slowly reached out and picked it up.

"This is the end for you, scum." I looked up behind me and found Morgan's towering form their. He stood there with his axe-hand already in the air. I quickly turned myself over and stared at large tyrant before me. "NOW YOU! DIE!" He said swing his axe down. On reflex, I held the combat-pass in front of me as some sort of mental safety, or perhaps in the vague, foolish hope that it would cushion the blow.

Time seemed to slow down.

I was well aware that at this moment Coby was shouting at me, that Zoro and Luffy had finally beat down the persistent marines, and were all rushing towards me to help. It's not like they could make it in time. I could only stare up at the large axe coming down upon me. That axe was going to be the end of me; in a moment, my blood is going to stain its edge.

__Am I going to die? __I thought.

Yes, that was it, I was going to die.

__I-I don't want to die. __I've only been here for less than a day; I couldn't die now! __I don't wanna' die here! __This was only the beginning; I can't die right here! Whatever happens, I can NOT die! __I refuse to die, not here!__

_I Won't die here!_

I felt a dull throbbing in my chest.

_Not when I haven't figured out just how I got in this mess!_

It burned for the life of me, but I held on with grit teeth.

_I have to live; survive at all costs!_

The burning became a blazing inferno!

"I. Wanna' live." I muttered out in a silent whisper as the axe closed in on me.

It had to be released! It had to escape in some way!

"I. WANT TO LIVE!" I roared with all my might.

And then a small sliver of hope appeared in a way that I would have never guessed.

Just as Morgan's axe hit the combat-pass, black energy spewed forth from it. The black energy roared as cried before it came to life with twice the force than before. The force behind it sent the tyrannical flying back several meters onto the ground.

I could only stare in awe and amazement and the swirling black energy that encompassed the pass. It was the kind of pitch-black one would see at night, and had this red outline to it. It felt so brutal and harsh, like anything it touched would simply tear it apart.

Hold on. Black energy with a red outlining; it was coming from this combat-pass also.

__No, there's no way. __I thought, still doubtful. There was only so much I can except in one day. __This can be possible, I can't have this! __It was true, I couldn't have this detested power. I filled out none of the requirements for it! This one shouldn't even belong to me! _So how can…!_

My thoughts stopped as the wild darkness calmed itself before it slowly shaped itself.

The black energy took the form of a manji, a large one at that seeing as it's bent arms seemed to cover my form in my fallen shape like some sort of shield; it was fitting sense it copied the form of a guard. Its centre was the combat-pass that the energy flowed from. Though the black energy was able to keep a more corporeal form, it looked like just touching it would cause the energy to explode back into a raving storm.

My mouth was now closed, but even if I commanded it my jaw would stay locked in place. My tongue was tied from the sheer shock of it all. This should not be possible; this power did not belong to me. But here it was in my hand. After some time, my mind could only produce name of what this was.

_Fullbring…_My mind wracked around how I had gained this detested power. __How can in have this!? First I get sucked into the One piece universe, now I get powers from the bleach universe! What the hell is going on!? __I inwardly exclaimed as I stared at the power in my right hand. __This shouldn't even mine, this is Ichigo's fullbring, so how do I have it!? __A roar of rage interrupted my spazzing thoughts.

I looked backed to where the fallen captain had landed to see him back on both feet, glaring at me with uncontrolled anger. I quickly hopped onto both of my own feet, as fast as my aching body would allow me to. I stared at the enraged Morgan. He was glaring at me with uncontrolled rage and bloodlust. His breathing was fast and hard; he reminded me of a bull ready to run me down into a bloody puddle on the floor.

"YOU INSIGNIFICANT BUG! HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME! I AM MARINE CAPTAIN AXE-HAND MORGAN!" He yelled out while charging me in a mad dash. Oh crap! What do I do now!?

My thoughts instantly stopped. I knew what to do, I had to fight! _This power, I know how to use it! _Yes, I do know how, I've seen how it works over 100 times. __I can use it to take this guy down once and for all! __It was like some completely different persona had taken over. Gone was the fear that controlled my every move; it had been replaced by a strong resolve to live and fight! Gripping my right forearm that held the fullbring, I charged the giant with a roar.

I could feel something; even as I ran a feeling came over me. It was…a confusing feeling. I hadn't felt a feeling like this in my entire life, but at the same time I knew it all to well. This feeling swelled up inside of me, it flowed through every inch of my body. I knew what I had to do. A black ring of energy- no, black spiritual pressure formed closer to the combat-pass. I felt the feeling build up to its very brink.

"TAKE! THIIIIIIS!" I roared as I swung the combat-pass with both arms. A black, spinning disk of spirit energy came off of it and went careening towards the charging captain like a heat-seeking missile. It was too fast and too strong for someone of his capabilities. As soon as he and it made contact, he was immediately sent backwards, off his feet, with no resistance on his part. He was sent slamming into, and through, the Marine base's walls, where he fell with a mighty –thump-.

All was dead silent.

Neither the Marines (the conscious ones) or my companions made a sound as they stared at me and their fallen Captain. The only sound that could be heard was me. The thing I had done, what I had thought was impossible, had left me exhausted and tired. I was drenched in sweat and my legs trembled as they tried to keep me on my feet. That didn't last long, as my lower appendages quickly gave and I flopped down on the ground. The combat-pass fell from my grasp, immediately deactivating my Fullbring as it did so.

I quickly lost my conscious from there, falling into another deep sleep. But I as I did this, I could've sworn that I heard cheering, as well as someone calling out to me as they ran over.

I didn't care. Gosh did this ground feel comfortable. Feels like I'm lying on a cloud.

* * *

****Yeah! 4th chapter is finally done! God, this one was long as balls! Anywho's, expect the next chapter to be shorter and to have other stuff be shined upon! Also, I will be accepting OC's and junk like that and if you have any ideas you wish to share, than be my guest. The 5********th******** chapter will be coming out much sooner…unless the evil doer known as procrastination comes. Ok...Bye…go away…BEGONE!****


	5. Chapter 5

****Goody goody the 5********th******** chapter is finally up! Now we can finally get out Shells Town and into the sea. This short will be used to explain a few things, and clear some other stuff up. Besides that, we get a little enlightening of Patrick's past. Anyways, I hope that you enjoy the 5********th******** chapter so we can move on.****

****Chapter 5: Choices are made****

* * *

My dreams are normally rather confusing from time-to-time. In my experience, they could range from lucid dreams, to nightmares, or merely a memory of a past long gone. This dream however, seemed to be the latter of all three of them.

I was playing at the local park's playground close to my neighbourhood. There was all the regular stuff: slides, swings and even a sand box. I was 9-years old at the time, just about the usual age for a person to visit said playground. Well, unless you're a pedophile, but lets not even get into _that _subject.

I walked across the mulch-covered ground in boredom. Unlike other mindless children, I actually thought about things before doing them and considered factors, consequently I knew about cause and effect. I like to think that I grew up faster mentally than physically. But that was just me I suppose.

"There's nothing to do here." I grumbled out-loud while kicking up some mulch. My eyes travelled to the other children playing tag, all having fun with each other. I looked over to some others jealously, quickly glimpsing a group making sand castles in the sand box, before I turned away. They looked to be having so much fun.

"This stinks." I mumbled as I dragged my legs on the ground. God did I feel bad, nobody wanted to play with me.

I was brought here not because I wanted to, but because my parents wanted me to interact with the other kids here; to make friends in simple terms. Unlike most children, I suffered from the ability to create communication with other sentient creatures that could return communication at an adequate state. In short, social problems.

Unlike other people who could speak and converse as if it was second nature, I found it hard to even say "hello". I don't know why, it was just hard, like trying to learn a third language without a teacher. I would always get tongue-tied and in the end I just stopped. I didn't even find talking to be useful anyway's. It only got in my way.

Alas, my parents thought otherwise and so here I was, forced to make 'friends'. I didn't know how my parents made friends when they were kids, but being impelled to do it was not one of those ways.

__Why can't I just go home. __I thought, staring at the many kids prancing around with grins on their face. __This sucks so much, I hate it here. __I felt a deep hole in my heart open. I thought that it was terrribly sad that no one wanted to play with me. I wanted to go back home, close my blinds and go to bed; it didn't matter if it was the afternoon, it would be better than staying in this place…feeling this jealousy.

I continued walking out of the playground, away from playing children, out of sight from my parents. But most importantly, away from the stinging sorrow in my heart. But even though I walked away though enlarging abyss inside me grew larger and larger.

I stopped as my breathing became a tad faster and I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Was I starting to cry? I wasn't really ever one to cry, even at my tender age of nine. I suppose I tried to wall my emotions up so I didn't have to worry my parents; mostly so I could try to fool myself that I was alright. I see now that that was failing.

"It's not fair." I complained quietly while wiping away the single tear with the back of my hand. "Why do I feel like this while everyone else was happy?" I was stumbling with my head in the clouds. But when I came back down I realized that I was no longer near the playground. I seemed to have stumbled into the forest that was close by the playground.

__I should probably get back to the playground. __I thought. I could spot my destination from afar. But seeing everyone so happy…I didn't want to see that. I'd probably breakdown sobbing the moment I saw them. I was confused what to do. Go back and suffer, or stay here and wallow and sadness?

My dilemma was interrupted by an unusual smell that would not be expected in a forest.

__Smoke? __I realized the smell as soon as it met my nose. The foul smell was so very familiar to me. My dad was a smoker who smoked a cigarette or three a day, so I knew the disgusting gas very well. __Is there a forest fire? __I thought as the smoke hung in the area. I looked left and right as I glared into the surrounding trees. __Where is it? __I couldn't see any fires anywhere.

But my eyes located a smoke-trail. It seemed to be coming from behind a tree that, compared to others, was rather large. I could hear the crackling of fire and could see a dull light throbbing there as well.

I stood in place for a moment, trying to figure out what to next. Should I simply walk away from the accumulated blaze, or should I let curiosity take hold and find out more about it? I went over these choices over and over; my brain checked over the pros and cons of both ideas fluently.

And then I made a decision. One that would change my life from that moment on.

"Well, here goes nothing." I told myself while taking a step forward. I paused for a moment for making me other leg follow the same motion. I did this again and again until I found my legs working normally once again. And as I made my way to the tree's backside, I could only wonder just what mysteries would lay behind it.

As I came around the tree (Though I kept a small distance away from it), I never expected someone else to be there as well. He was a boy, around my age, whom wore red shorts and a black shirt. What I did find I interesting was his hair. It wasn't the natural red colour someone would have, but a rich, crimson colour.

He was crouched over a fire, poking it with a stick a few time, sending small embers into the air. His face was set in something in between a frown and a scowl. I was a little nervous, he looked rather unfriendly. But instead of walking away I stood; I seemed to have gone unnoticed by him so far.

__Maybe I should talk to him. __Others would have kept their distance from him; their parents would tell them not to make contact with him just because he could be a threat to their safety. __He could be just like me. __That was mostly the only reason why I had no friends, everyone judged me because of my constant silence. Just thinking about another person just didn't sit right with me, so I decided to confront the lone boy.

"Hmn?" He hummed out while looking at me. His brown eyes had surprise behind them; he obviously hadn't noticed me until now. That single emotion melted away and was replaced by irritation mixed with slight anger. "What do you want, loser!"

Ahh yes, that single word that haunted me through my school life. 'stupid, dummy, and idiot' usually followed it. Even though it stung my heart hearing his words, I carried on. "Hey loser, I asked you something!" Well, best of luck to me.

"H-hi!" I choked out after a moment of silence. Ok! Good start! "I was wondering, why you were all alone out here." I told him. He gave a harsh grunt in response to what was cycling through my head.

"Because I like to be alone." He stated while stabbing his stick into the fire with a few harsh jabs. Smoke and embers billowed outward from the agitated combustion before it settled down once again. "Everyone is just stupid; they all suck!" He bellowed in an outburst of anger. "Nobody likes to play with fire. When I go up to other people and ask if they want to play with it also, they just run away." He grumbled out as his anger dissipated into sadness before his rage came back in the form of a passionate blaze.

"They all suck! They aren't cool enough to play with me!" He yelled while tossing his stick away into the forest. "So why don't you go back to all the other losers, loser!" He shouted out while reaching for another stick by his side.

In most cases, I would've run away frightened. I probably would've run away right now if I hadn't commanded my legs to stay planted into the ground. I couldn't run from him now. Now that I knew…knew that he was so alone.

__Like me.__ Thought.

"W-well." I started. "I would go back…but…no one wants to play with me." I said while I lowered my head slightly. "I don't talk much; everyone thinks that I'm weird because of that." I mumbled out and shoved my hands in both pockets. "So…it's hard to find people who want to play with me." I tear slid down my eye again before another followed again. My wall was breaking bit-by-bit as I let my emotions flow out. I've never told this to anybody, not even my parents.

"Really?" He questioned with shock lacing the letters that formed his sentence.

I nodded before continuing. "Yeah, so that's why I came out here." I found that speaking to him, made talking so much easier. "But when I saw you out here, I sorta' thought…" We could talk. We could play. We could have fun. "We could be…friends." It felt so foreign for that word to escape my lips. And judging by the look on his face, it was very foreign to him as well.

"My…my friend? You wanna' be friends?" I bobbed my head. "You're not pullin' my leg here are ya'. If you are, I'll beat you with a stick!" He warned me as he got up and held his stick in a threatening manner. I shook my head again to him.

"Yeah, I wanna' be your friend." I told him.

We stood there awkwardly, not really sure what action to take next. I decided to make the first move and walked to the fire and crouched down by it. My position also made it so that I was right next to my new friend. He didn't waist any time in following my action and crouched down next to me.

It was silent for a moment, just the cackling of the fire could be heard. My friend started to poke it with a stick some more in our resumed, awkward silence. Once again, it seemed that I had to take control of this conversation once again.

"My name…my name is Patrick Falso." I told him while holding out my hand.

"My name…is Johnson Grundy." He grasped my hand and shook it roughly. "Let's be the best of friends, for ever." He told me with a grin which I returned with my own timid version.

"Yeah! Let's!"

* * *

I groaned as I felt myself wake up from my deep memory-like dream. Unlike most of my dreams, I was thankfully able to remember it. Johnson was my oldest, and best friend. We had known each other for practically all of our lives, and though he had his quirks (He was an insane pyromaniac who like nothing more than picking fights, cursing, and explosions) but I still liked him.

My eyes opened and I realized that I was asleep in a sitting position meaning that if I tried to lean back and stretch, the back of my head would most certainly be planted on the floor. Careful of my physical actions, I picked my head up from my makeshift pillow (Which consisted of both my folded up arms). I unconsciously rolled my neck back-and-forth earning many relieving problems from my sore joints as I checked around my new surroundings.

I had been transferred to a diner or bar. It was well decorated, with many tables, chairs, and other items of decoration. I let it pass in my head that there were a hoard of town's people peaking their head in through the door and windows, but I was more curious as to how I got where I was. I had been seated at one of the many tables in this joint. I wasn't alone though.

"Oi Patrick! Your finally awake!" Luffy managed to say with his mouth stuffed to the brim with food. The first thing I noticed was that Luffy and Zoro were seated at the same table as me. The table was filled to the brim with bowls, plates, and cups. They had been placed in such a way that they did not impede my rest. "We thought you'd never wake up!" Luffy said before shoving more food down his throat.

"Huh?" I mumbled before a yawn escaped my lips. "How did I get here, just what the heck happened?" I questioned. The last thing I remembered was passing out at the Marine base. "Would someone mind clarifying exactly what happened after I passed out?" I asked, still completely confused just what took place in my comatose state.

"After you passed out, everyone began cheering; apparently, the marines were to scared to do anything against him and were forced to do everything he commanded." Coby came to my rescue with an explanation. I didn't even notice the pink-haired boy who was currently seated at the bar, snacking on some food. God I was hungry. "We took you to this bar so you could rest. Plus Luffy and Zoro were hungry." He finished off.

__Well, that explains why I'm not in bed resting. __I told myself. I know I should've been angry that these to morons hadn't taken the time to find me a genuine place to rest, but I was just to god-damned exhausted. _Everything hurts so much. _Seriously, it felt like I decided to just get and take a 10-mile sprint. __Actually, a 10-mile sprint would've probably been safer. __The grumbling of my stomach brought me out of my thoughts. Even before I could even ask, a plate with a large chunk of meat on a bone on it was placed in front of me.

"Here, you must be starving." I looked up to see a middle-aged woman smiling at me kindly. I didn't even give a second to say thank you and began to chow down; I was fucking starving!

"Hey Patrick!" Luffy called asked after swallowing his food. "What was that thing you did when you took down Morgan?" Huh? Took down Morgan? What?

"Whaddya' mean Luffy?" I asked before taking another bite (I was wishing that I could start eating similarly to Luffy now) of my food. He looked at me confused, like he wasn't expecting me to say that.

"You don't remember?" Zoro questioned with a raised eyebrow, his bandana removed and ties around his upper-left arm show off his shortly-cropped, green hair. "That thing you did, with that spinning disk." I gave him a blank stare. "Did you hit your head when you fell or something?" He rhetorically asked.

"Disk…disk…disk." I repeated that word in hopes of remembering the memory of the past event. _Let's see, we went into the marine base…Luffy went to get Zoro's swords…Morgan and the marines appeared…a fight broke out…Then I…_

Everything came rushing back to me in a giant rush. The battle, the fear, and the power I used; I remembered everything.

__I…I used Fullbring! __My thoughts were jumbled beyond comprehension. Just how had I use it! on top of that, it shouldn't even belong to me. _I___ am so confused, I don't understand what's going on! __To have Fullbring, you have to have Hollow spiritual power; I don't have hollow spiritual power! __What the hell is happening!? __I would've freaked out some more on the subject, but Luffy had different ideas.

"Hey, hey Patrick." Luffy said while jabbing me on the side of my head with the fork. A fork that was covered in FOOD AND SPIT! EW!

"Dude! What the hell!?" I said while smacking away his fork. Disgusting. It wasn't that I was a germaphobe, it was because this was Luffy's mouth. Who knows what's been in there! "Why were you poking me in the head?" I said while rubbing the side of my head. That hurt a little.

"You sorta' blacked out." He said before taking another bight of his food. "Anyway, what was that disk thing?" He asked again. Crap, what the hell do I say? My mind keeps bringing up blanks each time I try to think of something.

"Well…uh…I-"

"Did you eat a devil fruit!?" He asked excitedly.

__Ugh crap. __I groaned inwardly. Everyone was looking at me curiously; they were all expecting an answer. __What the hell do I say? I can't say it's a Devi___l F___ruit, so what the hell do I say? __Come on, think-think-think! Anything would do!

"Well, let's just say that it's a special ability of mine." I told him in hopes of sating his curiosity.

"Oh. Ok." The way Luffy said it made it sound like he was disappointed or something. While I admit the answer I gave wasn't the best (It was a shitty answer, there was no denying it) but he didn't have to act like that.

__Well Luffy was always a forward and blunt person. __I rationalised while remembering the countless times Luffy had constantly said what was on his mind, whether it was nice…or not so nice. _Seriously, how could someone ask about if something poops so many times?_

There was a constant, awkward silence reverberating through the bar. No one knew what to say after my terrible answer. Everyone was making this uncomfortable face, as they didn't feel comfortable in this quietude. Well, except Luffy; he was picking his nose. Oblivious idiot.

Thankfully, Coby came to our rescue. Thank god. "Oh! I completely forgot!" He said, remembering something. "Here Patrick, I think this belongs to you." We watched as he hopped of his stool and walked up to me while reaching into his pocket. He pulled out something that was going to be very paramount to my survival in this demented world.

_My combat-pass! _I never even realized I dropped it. With a quick thanks to the rosy-headed boy, I reclaimed my possession. __I have to keep a better eye on this__ thing.I told myself. If I lost this, then was royally screwed. This plaque of wood was the source of my power, if I misplaced it then it was game over, the end, no turn back, no retry.

"So what is that thing anyways?" Luffy asked staring at the combat-pass before I pocketed the item. "It looks sorta' funny with that skull on it."

_Crap! I completely forgot. I need a backstory! _That was something I should've thought of earlier. I knew someone was going to start asking questions sooner or later, and if I didn't have the information that they wanted, that would only bring even more questions to the table. And seeing as they are starting to ask questions, I might have to come up with something now.

"Well…" Bullshitting Power Activate! FULL POWER! "It was a good luck charm from my parents before I left town." Ok, so there's a start. "They said while I was adventuring, that it would bring me good luck!" Yeah! That'll definitely work for now! I'll have to come up with a more stable history though.

So you're some type of adventurer huh?" Zoro said which I nodded to. "Isn't that basically a pirate?" He asked in a questioning manner.

"So you're a pirate too!?" Luffy said, clearly forgetting what I just told him.

"No, I'm an adventurer." I explained again to the both of them. Well, I wasn't going for adventurer, but I guess I'll stick with it. "They're completely different." I kept my tone low and reasonable.

"No. Pirates go searching around for mystery places and treasure, adventurers do that too!" Luffy exclaimed. Well, this turned out horribly. I could see from the corner of my eye that Zoro had an amused smirk on his face, probably thinking how funny this little argument was.

"I'm an adventurer." I said again.

"No, you're a pirate!"

"I'm an adventurer."

"You're a pirate!"

"Adventurer."

"Pirate!"

"Adventurer."

"Pirate!"

I simply stared at Luffy with a deadpanned face. Once Luffy thought something, it is practically impossible to stop him from thinking that. Sorta' like a malignant tumour. So there really was no reason to tell him something that he would never believe. So all I could do is go with his unusual flow.

"Fine I'm a pirate, happy?" I said, giving up. He gave a grin of success and a giggle. Everyone one else seemed to find it funny also as Zoro had let a soft chortle and Coby just smiled. I could only sigh and yawn. God I was tired today. Maybe I could ask the people on this island to give me some free bunking since I helped defeat Morgan?

"Hmmm…?" Luffy hummed while framing his chin with his thumb and index finger. He was thinking something, and for some odd reason it did not sit well with me. I got a chill up my spine; it was a sense of foreboding. "I got it!" He suddenly blurted out.

"Got what?" I asked. I did not like what he was going to say and I didn't even know what it was yet.

"You can join my crew!" Wow, am I psychic?

"What!?" I exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah! Join my crew!" He told me. "You're going on an adventure right, you can join my crew and discover new places and treasure!" He exclaimed. Self-restraint to slap him is failing. "And you have that super cool disk thing to! So join my crew!" Luffy told me.

"Really?" I questioned.

"Yeah!" He grinned.

"Hell No!"

"What! Why not!" Why not? I could think of a plethora of reasons why I don't want to join! Earlier today I had nearly been killed by that psychopathic Captain! Why would want to go through that practically every day for the rest of my life!? "Come on! Join my crew!" He complained in a childish manner.

"NO!" I said while raising my voice. "Just a few hours ago, you nearly made me kick that nasty oxygen breathing habit I have!" I exclaimed loudly. "You see, unlike other people, I'm not witless enough to easily agree to things that could easily kill me, because I love living; I adore breathing with a passion!" I was now out of my seat and waving my arms around as I exclaimed my last sentence. "So no, I won't be joining your crew. And so help me god, if you ask me again, I will bitch-slap you out of your seat, and across the room." I warned him.

Everyone was silent. Zoro and Coby had looks of shock on their face with slightly lowered jaws. They had clearly not expected my outburst to occur. Luffy on the other hand was seated, staring at me blankly with an unreadable expression. How was this going to turn out.

"NO! JOIN MY CREW!" He told me once again.

"NO!"

I was not going to join Luffy's crew; it was bad for my health. What kind of moron would actually want to get involved with Luffy? Not only is Luffy himself a moron, but practically every waking moment would have me walking side-by-side with death and stupidity. Also, Luffy was an idiot; me and idiots did not mix well.

"Come on, join my crew!" Luffy pleaded. I have the gnawing feeling that he completely ignored my earlier rant.

"No. I'm not joining your crew." I said in a much calmer tone than earlier.

"Well I'm not giving up 'til you do!" He told me. Good. I hoped he had the patients of the Buddha.

Coby decided to interject into our argument. "He's pretty adamant about you joining, isn't he Patrick?" He said with what I can only describe as pity. "But I guess that's the type of person Luffy is." He said with a smile.

"That's right! I'm not gonna' stop until you join my crew!" Luffy informed me. "So just join already!"

My mouth opened to retort, but then quickly shut it. I was weighing my options right now. From what I could gather from my vast knowledge of this anime, I was probably screwed right now. I was in checkmate. Everyone that joined Luffy's crew joined really because of his bullheadedness. He never gave up, and constantly whittled away at them until they agreed.

So yeah…totally screwed.

__So I basically have no choice in this matter, whatsoever. __I thought with a sigh. __I could probably try running, but he'd probably catch me in no time. __Despite his appearance, he was strong as hell. __So I'm either boned right now, or I could run and save my bonage for later. __Damnit, thinking about it wasn't going to change the inevitable. So I guess…

"Fine I'll…join…your crew." I sighed out. I hung my head in shame. Damn it all, I got strung into the thing I was mostly trying to avoid. __Oh well, I can just pull and Usopp if things get too bad. __Let's hope things don't get that bad.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered as he jumped from his seat and began to do a little (Very dork-ish and idiotic.) dance. "I finally got a first-mate!" He said happily.

"Wait, I thought I was the first-mate!?" Zoro complained. That was true. Zoro was supposed to be the first-mate, so that would make me…the second-mate. I don't know, I wasn't very knowledgeable on that subject. "Why does he get to be the first-mate!?" He was taking this to seriously. Did being first-mate give a bigger position of power?

"Yeah, but Patrick's attack was cooler." Of course Luffy would think like that.

"That's a stupid reason!" Zoro shouted. "The first-mate, should be chosen on how strong they are!" True. Zoro was most definitely stronger than me. "So I should be the first-mate, not him!" I nodded my head in agreement. It was only logical that Zoro got a higher position than me.

"Yeah, but Patrick fought all those Marines, and kicked Morgan's butt also!" Luffy pointed out. "So that means it's only logical that he'd be my first-mate." That was a fluke! "Besides, you're my swordsman, you can't have both titles!" Well, that was true, that doesn't mean I like it.

Zoro didn't look all to pleased about his captain's…our captain's choice and sighed. He glanced at me with a displeased look. That face changed though as he saw my less than pleased look I was making.

"So, besides me and Patrick, who else have you gathered for your crew?" Zoro asked a still eating Luffy. That woman is going to go out of business if she feeds him anymore. "You told me you were in the middle of gathering a crew for your ship; if you're going to be king of the pirates, can only assume that you've already gathered others." He said.

"Nope, just you two." He said before taking another bite of food.

"Just…" Zoro didn't finish his sentence before pointing at himself and me.

"Yep, just the three of us!" If I hadn't scene the future of this anime, I would have thought that this was ridiculous also.

"So you, me, and Patrick are what amount to a pirate crew." Luffy nodded while munching on his food (All this talk of food is making me hungry, I wonder if there is something else to eat?). "At least tell me you have a ship." Zoro said to him.

"Yep." Luffy said, pointing to the bar's only window with his fork. We both stared out it and saw the dock. There weren't many boats there, only a single wooden life-boat with a sail. Not to mention that there was a dog currently pissing on it. Zoro got out of seat and walked up to window, probably to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Sadly they were not.

"We'll have a big pirate ship before long, you'll see!" He tolled us why looking up, as if some large thought cloud had materialized up above him, probably with a picture of him and a large pirate ship. "I can't wait!"

Coby decided to interject. "I think that that Luffy was born without that part of the brain that allows us to plan out what we are going to do." He said before taking a drink from his glass of juice. If my Highschool education didn't betray me, that would be the frontal lobe.

"I can't believe I got suckered into him being my captain." He grumbled out while gripping his head to somehow sate his growing headache.

"How do you think I feel, I was forced into this, and I practically didn't even have a choice." I muttered while hanging my head in regret at not running while I had the chance. At least I would've had an inkling of a chance of escape.

"Oh come on guys! We'll have a ton more crew members in no time!" I wanted to yell and disagree, but I already knew he was right.

"Luffy? Where exactly are you going anyways?" The little girl (When the hell did she get here!?) of the woman asked him.

"Isn't it obvious! We're heading for the grand line!"

-PPPHHHHHHHHHT-

I watched in mild happiness as Coby did a spit-take, getting juice to flow out his mouth and nose, where it rained down upon the floor. We were suffering, so Coby should to. Sadly, I think it was more of him in shock than suffering. What a shame.

"NO! HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND, YOU HAVE TWO CREW MEMBERS! THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE EQUIPED TO HEAD INTO THE GRAND LINE!" Coby shouted in utter terror at his friends plan.

"I've heard about the grand line but I never knew it was such an awful place." The little girl said curiously.

Coby then began to tell us about the Grand Line. I didn't really pay attention, my stomach was calling for me. Thankfully Coby's explanation distracted Luffy long enough to steal a few left-over chunks of food of his plate. It was some fish of sorts.

"That sounds terrible, I've heard stories abut it from customers passing through." They woman behind the bar said with a worried tone. "They say whoever goes into there never comes out alive."

"Which sucks sense that's where the One Piece is and that's where we're exactly going." Luffy said, completely shaking off the explanation Coby just gave us. I guess it went in one ear, passed through that empty cranium of his, and came out the other.

"I guess we have to live with it!" Zoro said, finally over his earlier frustration and now jumping at the new challenge before him.

"I guess we don't have much a choice, do we?" I muttered while scratching the back of my head. I was already roped into this shindig, I might as well make the most of it. "Let's head to the Grand Line."

"NO, YOU CAN'T GO!" Coby yelled trying to dissuade us. Well, them. I didn't really care much for going there. I'd be just as happy staying alive, thank you.

"What are you complaining about, it's not like your going with us are you?" Zoro told him. Coby looked sheepish and gulped.

"Well, no. But I still worry for all of you. Is it so wrong to care about the three of you!?" He argued while holding his hand to his chance. "Luffy and I haven't known each other for years or anything, but I still consider him a friend." He turn to Luffy. "Wouldn't you say?" He asked.

"Of course!" Luffy said grinning ear-to-ear. "Even though we may have to part ways, we'll always be friends!" That seemed to touch Coby's heart (And mine, not that I'll admit it) because he lowered his head so that his glasses reflected the light.

"When I was a little kid, I never had any friends, let alone anyone who would fight on my behalf, so I always tried my hardest not to fight for anything." My attention was completely on him now, my face depleted of all emotional signs. "But the three of you have taught me a lesson (Me?), something I could've never learned on my own. To fight for what I believe in! So I've decided to make my childhood dream a reality! I'm going to become a marine!" He said proudly.

"Then you should be a bit more concerned about your situation here." I spoke to him. He looked at me in confusion so I clarified. "Didn't you say something about spending some time on a pirate ship or something?" He did say that right, I don't want to get caught with information I shouldn't know. Though I'm going to assume that everyone's to bone-headed to realize it. "The Marines have one of the greatest information gathering skills in the world. They will find out about your time as a pirate, and you'll never join." No, he was gonna' join. I could tell whatever bullshit answer about him not joining, he was still gonna' join.

"I never thought of that." He mumbled out, looking a little hopeless.

Suddenly, the doors to the bar opened so we brought our attention to it. Standing there were a bunch of marines. Surprisingly, they looked completely healthy. It was as if their earlier beat down didn't happen. I wonder how they healed themselves so quickly.

_I blame One Piece physics._

"You there." A single marine spoke as he walked in, the others standing outside the door at attention. "We heard that you fellas are pirates, is this rumour true?" He asked us in a strong, calm tone.

"Yep, that's us." I said pointing at myself, Luffy, and Zoro. "Weeee arrrrrrre pirates." The way I said it was just so…yeah. Anyway, my tone showed just how done I was with today. We were finally done with this debacle of an arc and were about to head out. So I was rather fidgety and ready to get off this island.

"We appreciate what you did to save our town from that tyrant. But now that we know you're pirates, as Marines, we can't watch idly by and watch you go about your business." He said sternly while fixing his cap so that it shadowed his eyes. "So that is why we must ask you to leave this town immediately, but out of respect for what you've done, we will not report you to headquarters." He explained.

Sadly, this did not sit well with the gathered town's people. They through jeers and yelled in outraged. I grew a little bit of respect for them, they didn't even flinch at their words, and they simply stood still in formation without budging.

Luffy decided to end it though. "Heh, time to go!" He said getting up from his seat while throwing, what I could only guess to be, a bag of food over his shoulder while me and Zoro followed right behind him. But it seemed that the Marines had other ideas.

"Aren't you a part of the crew as well?" He asked Coby making him turn into a stuttering mess. We stopped for a moment to look back at the scene behind us before going to continue forward. "Hold on! Is he with you or what?" Oh come on! I am running low on patience here!

"Actually, no sir, he's not." I said looking back to the nervous Coby and the questioning Marine. "We found him loitering around the Marine base just before the fight with Morgan broke out." I lied. It was better than what Luffy planned to do. "From what I heard from him, he wants to join the Marines or something." Well, that should take care of that.

The Marine nodded in understanding before turning back to Coby who was giving me a thankful look. I nodded and gave him a smile before turning back and fallowing my crew members out the door.

* * *

The Towns people parted to both sides as we walked through them and down the street. They would either stare, whisper or smile at us. It made me feel all warm inside. I was thankful that we didn't even have to walk far to the docks, the bar was located rather close to it. In my estimation, it a good fifteen minutes of walking through streets and down stairs before we finally came upon it.

"That was a pretty bad lie you did back there." Zoro said as we spotted his miniature life-boat. "I wouldn't be surprised if the Marines saw right through it." He told me.

"Coby can handle the rest on his own." I spoke back. "I have faith in the kid, I'm sure he's got it all under control." I muttered while hopping into the wooden boat and quickly sitting down against the mast and shut my eyes. Even with my earlier snooze, I was still rather tired, so I was going to nap again.

"Luffy!" OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

I cracked an eye and saw Coby giving a salute. Next to him was the woman from the bar and her daughter.

"I can never thank you enough! You've done more for me than anyone ever has!" He then turned to me. Oh god. "And Patrick! Thank you for defending me so I could join the Marines!" I blushed a little at the compliments, I wasn't used to them. Instead of answering I gave a 2-finger salute and tried to sleep again.

"I've never heard a Marine thanking a pirate before, that's one for the history books." I heard Zoro say followed by Luffy's giggles. I felt their weight put on the boat as they hopped on and my ears caught the sound of the sail opening and the next thing I knew I felt the gentle sway of the ship, which only made my journey to the land of the sleep that more winderous.

As I felt my consciousness slip, I began to think. Here I was, in one of my favourite anime, with fictional super powers, journeying with the main protagonist. I had no knowledge as to how I got here, I only know that I was here. What was I supposed to do know? Should I just go on an adventure with Luffy, create a false identity, and forget all about my past life?

__NO! I have to find a way home! __That was for sure. Everything I had was there. My friends, family, my life. __They must be worried sick about me. __I wonder if a picture of me was on the news; I could imagine my family and friends crying. __I will find a way back home, no matter what. __I told myself before I slowly nodded off to sleep.

* * *

****YAY! The 5********th******** chapter is completed and now we could move onto the 6th chapter as soon as it's finished. So how do like this chapter, especially the flashback of him and his friends? Well, honest to god, I don't know what else to say down here, so I'm just going to end it here. Please add reviews, each one helps make this story better. BYE BYE!****


	6. Chapter 6

**Finally, chapter 6 is up! That also means that we can hopefully start the next arc, here! Isn't that fantastical! Anyways, I believe that I continue, yes? Ok! Let's start this chapter right now, and get onto the next arc so I can fins some way to keep you incompetent viewers entertained. START!**

**Chapter 6: Understanding, the start of a new predicament.**

* * *

My wondrous dozing was unceremoniously stopped as my inner alarm clock decided that I had rested for a long enough time. My eyelids retracted and I was momentarily blinded to the lack of light I had much earlier. The only thing that alerted me to my location as my nose was filled with smell of sea salt and I could here the faint sound of the ocean currents churning.

It did not take very long for my eyes to fine-tune my sight; it was only a minute or so. The first thing I noticed was my body's position. Unlike earlier, where I had placed my back against the mast, I had somehow travelled to the left side of the boat and was leaning back against it.

Zoro was sprawled against the bow of the boat, his swords by his side. Luffy was sleeping parallel to me his head hanging back at an unnatural angle (damn rubber freak!). They were both emitting loud snores that quickly told me that I was not falling back asleep anytime soon.

I sighed and decided to stare out into the ocean; the view was nice. The ocean was vast and calm, so it looked like and endless sheet of crystals as it sparkled under the crescent moon's slight. This was one of those 1-in-a-million sights you would only see in a lifetime. Huh, who would've thought I would see one in my lifetime.

_It would be more extravagant if those 2 would stop snoring._ I thought with a twitching eyebrow while staring at my brand new crewmember and captain._ But that's probably going to be a pipe dream._ I thought frowning. It seemed my thoughts were passed onto the other 2, because their snoring became even more ear splitting. I did my best to ignore it and stared out into the ocean.

_Next should be the orange town arc._ I thought. _That means we get our navigator, Nami. _I thought in a rather disheartened tone. Not that I didn't want her to join, she was important to the survival to the crew, but she was a complete and utter bitch! _I can't count the times I've wanted to slap that bitch in the anime!_ Who knows, I might be able to accomplish that little scheme!

"Now that I think about Nami, wasn't she at the marine base also?" I mumbled quietly, lest I waken my companions. "Yeah, she was at the marine base…looking for a treasure map." Wow, that was ironic sorta'. We were looking for a navigator, and she was right under our nose the entire time. "Well, we'll see her in…how many days it takes for us." Yeah, they didn't really specify actually how long it's going to take to get to Orange town. My guess was it was probably going to be a day or 2.

"That's just great." I muttered while raising my right-hand to scratch my head. But on it's journey, it brushed up against something in my pocket. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the my combat-pass. The same combat-pass that I used to take down Morgan with a destructive attack.

I stared at the plack of wood that was going to be my source of power for the rest of my psychotic escapade. As I kept my eyes glued to it, I only had one question that I had to answer first, one that was going to help me along this journey.

_How do I use this thing?_ I thought.

Fullbring; I knew how fullbring worked, down to it's very core. But using it was a completely different subject. And sad to say, there was no instruction manual or wikipedia to help me out with this dilemma. So what I had to do is pretty much lost to me. That also meant I'm going to be majorly screwed if I don't figure it out.

My finger tapped the clasped combat-pass as I sat there, trying to figure out just what I had to do to accomplish this task. This was one of the hardest enigma's I think I'd ever tried to solve, we besides the fact that I mysteriously had these powers and the fact that I am in an anime.

_Come on, think brain. _I thought while searching through my encephalon to its deepest nooks and crannies. _There has to be something I can do? _There had to have been, I activated it before, I could activate it again. And as I sorted through my brain, I finally came upon the information that I needed.

_In bleach, Chad said that Ichigo should focus on his pride as a soul reaper to activate his fullbring. _I re-called. _So, does that mean that fullbring can be activated by a certain emotion?_ If so, it's not pride for me, even if I do share Ichigo's fullbring, I do not have pride in my abilities as a soul reaper because I was never one in the first place.

_What emotion was I feeling right before I activated it? _There were many emotions I was feeling during that time. Fear, depression, anger, sadness; there were a plethora of others. _There has to be one main feeling that was going through me then? _Wait, I think I got it! It was right before Morgan almost killed me! It was…was…was…

_A need to live._ I thought while staring into the carved eyes of the combat-pass. _That's it! That was definitely what it was! _ I confirmed with a nod. My arm was swung outward so I could hold the combat pass outside the boat's perimeter. I didn't want it to go off inside the ship after all! _Now I just need to focus on it._

I remembered it, that feeling of wanting to survive. It was a mix of adrenaline and instinct; everything moved in slow motion. My body reacted on fight-or-flight. It was primordial, something that existed in the very center of my being. The feeling to fight on in order to live…to survive.

_To survive…I have to survive!_ My eyes were shut in concentration. _And if I figure out how to use this power, my chances of living will be ever so closer! _ Come on! Work you damn thing!

Then I felt it, like a connection of sorts. I kept my focus on this unknown, giving it all my attention. Beyond the thin layer of my skin, I could make out a dull light along with a soft thrumming. My heart pounded slightly with anticipation and excitement as I realized what I had just done. So I opened my eyes, and stared at my accomplishment.

In My hands was my fullbring, fully activated. Its swastika form gave off a dull, red light that covered us and turned the water, which was placed beneath it the same hue. I stared in satisfaction as the black spiritual pressure did it's best to keep form. There was a feeling I got from it, almost a connection of sorts. It wasn't uncomfortable, it felt calming to have it.

My eyes bored into it before I slowly getting up from resting spot. I was careful when I got to both feet, as I didn't wish to awaken my snoozing companions. I was also mindful to keep my right arm outstretched, so I didn't slam my spiritual ability into the ship's miniature mast.

_Ok, let's have a test-run. _I thought while looking at my fullbring like it was some confusing arithmetic. _Now I just need to figure out how to charge this thing up. _I contemplated on a few ways before immidietly giving up on them, I really doubt that any of them were the right answer I needed._ When I charge this thing up, a ring forms; the more arms, the stronger the attack._ I remembered. _The problem I have is that I know the reaction, but not the ignition._ I breathed an annoyed sigh while using my free hand to scratch my head.

"Screw it." I mumbled. "I figured out how to activate it; I think that's enough for tonight." I'll figure out how to use it one I get to Orange town, that's where the buggy pirates are. Maybe I'll get some target practice too. "Now how the hell do I turn this fricking thing off?" I uttered silently while looking at my currently activated power.

It must 'ave heard my subconscious command, because the black spirit pressure spewing from the combat-pass shuddered before quickly dissolving into black flakes which dissolved into nothingness. I stared at it in a mixture of shock and confusion with a raised eyebrow from the unexpected act. My sights were set upon it for a few more moments before I sighed.

I shoved the combat pass back into my pocket before setting myself back down on the boat. "I hope I'll get a break and I can get some more sleep." I mumbled while pulling my hoodie up, in hopes of muffling their snores. It failed. But thankfully, the giant troll in the sky decided to give me some semblance of a break, because I could slowly feel my eyes shut and my consciousness fade.

* * *

"Hey…hey…hey Patrick!" I was brought out of limited coma-like slumber by a very rude voice yelling in my face. "Patrick! Patrick, wake up!" I was now being prodded in the chest and I could feel my patients slowly withering away, which was odd, since I usually had the patients of a saint. His jabs and shoves were getting to me, so I opened my eyes. deciding to see just what Luffy wanted from me.

My vision was full of Luffy, whose face was barely centimeters away from my own.

And like any other human, I reacting the normal way.

"HOLY FUCKING CRAP!"

Yes…normally.

In shock, I socked the rubber man in the face, sending him flying back first into the mast. I was surprised, even as Luffy was sent into a giggling fit at my reaction. When my fist met his face, it was like his nose simply crumbled under my fist's weight. But looking at it now, his nose looked completely fine.

_It must be because of his devil fruit abilities. _I deduced with a nod. _No wonder he can survive getting beaten up by Nami and everyone when he does something stupid. _Which meant it was going to be hard to deter him from doing something stupid, something he was going to be doing throughout the series. _I had better learn haki fast then._ I told myself.

"So, do you wanna' tell me just what made you want wake me up you moron?" I told him while pulling down my hoodie. The sun was out and there were very little clouds in the sky. Zoro was seated at the bow of the ship like earlier, except this time he was awake. He had one of his swords unsheathed and was patting against it some type of weird cue-tip thing.

"Cuz' I'm hungry~!" He complained in a childish manner. Do…not…throw over-board.

I took a look at Zoro with barely controlled anger. He looked at me with the exact face I was making. It seemed that Luffy was busy annoying Zoro before he decided to pick me as his next target. May whatever deity (Not Eneru) have mercy on his soul.

"And…what…do you want me to do about it?" I asked him with a twitching eyebrow. "Does it look like I have food on me?" He shook his head, and I face-palmed at his extravagant stupidity. "So why are you asking me?" I asked him, removing my hand from my face to speak.

"Because I'm hungry! And there's nothing to eat!" What did he mean we didn't have anything to eat? I swear I saw him take a bag of food with him onto the ship! Unless I hallucinated the entire thing from exhaustion, which I doubt.

"Didn't you bring a bag full of food onto the ship?" Zoro asked him with a frown. So I didn't imagine it. "Where the heck did it go?" I had a sneaking suspicion where it had gone. Actually, the deflated bag with what looked like small crumbs and stains blemishing it sorta' proved it.

"Oh, I ate it!" He said cheerfully. Sadly for him, that was not the answer Zoro was looking for.

"Y-you ate it all!?" Zoro yelled in shock. Shock soon became anger. "What the hell were you thinking!?" The swordsman reprimanded, his fist up and shaking.

"It's not like you guys would want it anyway, it was all meat and fruit!" He said laughing his ass off, completely unaware of the growing anger inside both Zoro and I.

-BAM- -BAM- -BAM-

"OF COURSE WE WOULD'VE WANTED IT!" We both managed to bellow at the same time before Zoro hit Luffy over the head a couple of times, giving him a good few bumps on his head.

"Great." I groaned, putting both hands over my face. "It's not even a day, and we're already going to starve." My voice was sad and muffled. "So what we do now?" I asked Zoro, the only other sane person here besides me. "From what I saw him eat yesterday, this guy could eat a 5-star restaurant out of business." I said while jabbing my thumb towards Luffy.

"I don't know, maybe we can stalk up on some food once we reach the next island." He answered which I nodded in agreement, though that was only for appearance, I just had to wait for that stupid bird to come and whisk him away to Orange town. Whenever that happens. "We should also think about getting a new ship also."

"Yeah, we should." I agreed with Zoro fully. The sound of a growling stomach took our attention so I shifted my body around to look at a collapsed Luffy, who was gripping his empty stomach. I could only sigh at the pathetic form he was in.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a hoarse." I heard him murmur. His brain- I mean stomach answered back with another growl of agreement.

"This is karma I guess." I spoke aloud. "Ain't it a bitch." Zoro nodded in consensus, Luffy just moaned some more. "And the number one rule about karma is this: it's a bitch." This sagely quote couldn't have been said better.

"Ah, I'm starving! I'm gonna' die of starvation!" He cried while rolling back and forth causing the boat to rock slightly. The day Luffy starves is the day hell freezes over and the devil starts to sell girl-scout-cookies to raise money for breast cancer. "Patrick~! Zoro~! Do something~!" Luffy cried out.

"What do want us to do? You ate everything!" Zoro told him.

"We could try fishing, but we don't have any bait." I summarized. "So you'll have to wait until the next island." I told him. "And stop complaining! The more you complain, the more hungry you're gonna'-." I was interrupted by the sound of a stomach growling loudly; it was my stomach."…Make us feel hungry also." I muttered out the last bit of my sentence as I blushed in embarrassment.

Zoro smirked in amusement, which I answered back with a glare. But he stopped when his stomach roared for nutrition. Our roles were then switched and I was now grinning at him and he was blushing. "Sh-shut up!" He said followed by an audible grumble.

Are little spat was interrupted by the lack of sound from the complaining idiot on the ground. He was on his back, arms and legs splayed. Both of his eyes were locked onto something in the sky. I followed his line of sight, and immidietly voiced what I saw.

"Hey look…a bird."

Though, I might have looked rather bored and quiet on the outside, I was cheering on the inside. Finally, we can get on with the next arc and out of this hellhole of an ocean. Not that I didn't like oceans, just staying in a small ship with another guy and a Luffy was not very healthy for my sanity.

"Yeah, you're right." Zoro said after.

Luffy suddenly got up from his spot on the floor with a pleased grin adorning his face. I would be having one as well, just as soon as that big-ass bird flying above us catches that idiot and flies off to Orange town.

"Hey, I have an idea. Let's catch and eat that bird!" Luffy said, now back to his usual cheery manner of thinking.

"Hm? How do we catch it?" Zoro said voicing his confusion.

Luffy just grinned. "Just leave that to me!" We watched as our idiot captain, stretched both his arms and gripped the mast's yard, where he then flung himself towards the bird. "GUM GUM ROCKET!" He cried out as he went sailing up towards it, not expecting it to be much larger than he thought it to be.

"That makes sense." Zoro muttered under his breath. Probably still adjusting to the fact that his captain was a rubber freak. I didn't blame him, I was still weirded out by it too.

We watched as he continued in his upward direction before he suddenly and unceremoniously stopped. It took a moment to focus in on Luffy, but when I did, I saw that yes, his squishy head had been caught in the large bird's beak. He was currently calling out to us for help.

"AAAAAHHHHH! HELP ME YOU GUYS!"

"YOU MORON! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING YOU DUMBASS!?" Zoro roared in both anger and shock as he began rowing the boat (I never even noticed the oars.) at speeds that a normal human should not be able to accomplish. I was nearly thrown off of the boat because I wasn't even prepared.

_Oh one piece physics, you're like a double-edged sword; sometimes I love you, sometimes I hate you._ I thought with a sigh as water droplets splashed on me. _And now, I hate you so very much. _If it was somehow a physical person, I would punch it.

"HEY YOU! STOP! MAN OVERBOARD, MAN OVERBPARD!"

I leaned over the side of the ship, and located 3 heads bobbing out of the water in front of the ship. Each person was calling out to us to stop the ship to get on and their arms wildly to get our attention. They looked rather strange and shady, almost like a clown. Hold on…these guys are apart of Buggy's crew aren't they? Welp', that makes it simple what has to be done doesn't it. "Shipwrecks at a time like this!?" Zoro yelled in frustration. "I can't stop. You'll just have to jum-!" I decided to cut him off there.

"No just keep going!" I yelled at him. "If we lose Luffy now, we could lose him forever!" Plus, I didn't want to waste my time with these idiots. He looked at me strangely but I pointed forward and yelled "GO!" which he then complied with my command. I watched with satisfaction as the 3 stranded pirates passed by us, pleading for us to stop. Good, they were a waste of our time.

"Hey, are you really ok with leaving those guys behind?" Zoro questioned me. His gaze said that he was not expecting someone like me to do something like that.

"If you'd looked closer, you could see a jolly roger on the middle guy's hat." Well I thought there was. I did see a skull with a big red nose on it. "That particular jolly roger must mean he's apart of a notorious pirate crew in the east blue." I answered back.

"Notorious pirate crew?" Zoro said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, they call themselves the buggy pirates; I've heard the captain is pretty strong." I said. Well, he wasn't all strong; Morgan seemed stronger than he was. "But that doesn't matter, what matters is that we got to keep up with Luffy before we lose him." I told him as my eyes went back up to Luffy, who looked to be getting farther away. "So pick up your pace." I ordered

"Let's see you try and do this then!" Zoro yelled back, which I ignored completely. Gotta' keep my eyes on Luffy.

* * *

Sadly, even though we had kept chasing Luffy for a good 30 minutes, Zoro was still human. And like every human, he got tired. Zoro was leaning back against the ship covered in sweat. He was gasping for breath as he tried to lower what I could only guess was his drumming heart. I stared at him with a look of mild amazement.

_We lost him. _I grumbled inwardly. _This is bad, if we don't find him, then I might have condemned Luffy to death and ended the entire anime._ Maybe I should have let those pirates on board so we could force them to bring us to Orange town. _Damn my stupidity, I should of thought this over before reacting. _I wanted to hit myself, but that would hurt. So I shall refrain from the hitting until later.

"Great, what are we suppose to do now?" Zoro managed to question through his rapid respiration. "We lost Luffy, that idiot could be anywhere." He finished before growling. "That moron, what the hell was he thinking!?" I answered with a chuckle.

"That's adorable Zoro." I said, earning a look of confusion from my fellow crew member. I couldn't help but let a small grin pull at my cheeks. "What makes you think he was thinking in the first place?" I asked rhetorically.

That got a quick chuckle out of Zoro and the atmosphere of frustration and anger slowly began to lift little by little. Our laughing stopped after a short moment as we leaned our heads back, and stared up into the sky in boredom. Well him in boredom, I was trying to figure out exactly just how I was supposed to find Luffy and find, which would inadvertently lead us to Nami.

_So how? _I wondered inwardly. There weren't many routes I could take to accomplish this; we were practically stranded in the center of the ocean without a compass! As much as I hate to admit it, I clearly fucked up on my part. _Well, you reap what you so._ I thought with a grimace. _But what the hell are we supposed to now, we're completely lost!?_ This couldn't be the end, I just got here, I can't just give up here.

I sighed from my growing headache and let my head roll to the left where I recognized a very familiar form in the distance. Several emotions flowed through me. First came anger, then frustration, which it then settled on disappointment. All throughout this my body didn't move a muscle; I just kept my gaze straight with a deadpan look.

_You…have got be…fucking kidding me?_ I thought rhetorically. Seriously, how did we miss that?

"Zoro." I called out.

"Hm? What is it?" I heard him answer back.

"We're fucking idiots." I said dejectedly.

"What!?" Even though I couldn't see him, I could feel his eyes on me.

"Look…" I said, pointing out into the distance where my eyes were locked. "…right there."

Everything was silent for some time; Zoro was obviously trying to drink it all in. The silence was rather miniscule.

"HOW THE HELL DID WE MISS SOMETHING LIKE THAT!?"

Yes, his outburst was right. Because in the far-off distance was an island. How we didn't even see it was beyond me. But hey, we found it now, so now use complaining about it! Hey, if we're lucky, it could be the Organ islands! Fingers crossed!

"Well I know 1 thing." I said while quickly setting myself back up into a sitting position. "We should go that way." I told him, emphasizing my pointed by shacking my arm a little. "I have a feeling that our idiot captain is on that island there." Well maybe.

"What makes you think that?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, that bird was going to eat Luffy, so it had to find a place to land before he can chow down. It make perfect sense if you think about it." I explained. "And seeing as that is the closest landmass here, I can only suspect that it's that-a-way." I told him. "Find the bird, find Luffy." I further explained to the swordsman.

"Alright I get it." Zoro said with a nod of understanding before turning back to the patch of land in the distance. "But that island is pretty far away, how do you suppose we get there then?" Zoro questioned. Well, ugh…crap.

"Well, we have no choice then!" I said while getting up from my seated spot on the boat. I rested my right foot on the boat's wall and pointed towards the island rather dramatically. "You're going to have to row us there Zoro!" I yelled out with in a passionate bellow.

"W-what!? No way!" It seemed Zoro wasn't motivated from the way I spoke. Strange, it worked in anime; am I doing it wrong. "There's no way I could do that, I'll pass out before we could even make it!" He angrily complained with a raised fist.

"Well we got no choice!" I yelled back. "Between the both of us, you are the strongest physically! So you have to do it!" I continued on before he even had the chance to talk back. "Look Zoro, you may not like it, but if we don't find Luffy soon he is going to become bird chow! So do you really want to keep arguing over this, or do want to find Luffy!?" There was no way Luffy would die from a stupid bird, that idiot would beat the crap out of it before that bird could even lay his beak on him. Zoro on the other hand wasn't previewed to the same information as me.

"Well…I…damnit all! Fine!" Zoro yelled in a defeated manner. He gripped both oars in both hands, and with a preparing breath he began paddling like a madman. I was barely able to maneuver my body so that it was able to fall inside the boat's parameter instead of into the vast ocean.

"Ow. Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow." I muttered while holding my throbbing head. But even while I did, my thoughts were more on the predicament at hand. The island that we were heading to may, or may not be where Luffy is, meaning that I may have fucked up the entire anime already.

_I have to be more careful about what I do. _I told myself, my face marred with a deep frown. _It isn't bad to change the smaller things, and I sure as hell will change the more important things, but if I fuck up again like I did today…_I didn't finish that thought, letting the words sink in. _I have to keep an eye out on everything I'm doing so I don't make mistakes like this._ I mentally nodded at that. Because of my actions, a whole lot of people's lives may have been ruined.

"From now on, I'll make sure that I don't fuck up like this anymore." I pledged in a mumble as we zoomed off to the island in the distance. I hope I really didn't fuck this up, and that is the Organ islands.

* * *

**Finally, the 6****th**** chapter is complete. HUZZAH! HALLELUJAH! This chapter wasn't really my favorites, but in all honesty, it had to be made. I had to have Patrick find a way for him to control his powers. I honestly didn't feel like making him do that in the middle of a battle like in the last arc, sounds sorta' corny to me. so I decided to at least give him some basic control of it before he reached the next arc. He also doesn't seem to be the type of person who would instantly rush into battle without a plan.**

**The next thing I want to talk about is Patrick's amnesia. You have to be slightly curious about it? I know it sounds a little cliché, but don't worry, it will all clear up during the alabasta arc. If you want a clue on it, search up the name 'Mnemosyne', that should help.**

**I also wanted to ask if you guys wanted to give me some OC's for the story. I would preferably like some enemies to fight and a few allies. So if you guys could do that it would be fan-flipping-fantastical! **

**Welp, I'm done talking. If you enjoyed my story, then please review (I enjoy it!) or send in messages (I enjoy those as well!). Well, gotta go, bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm back everybody! And I'm here with the 7****th**** chapter too! Aren't you all excited! If you're not, then you can go suck it, because I spent all this time working on it just for you ya' insufferable twat! We have finally moved along to the next arc, where we can hopefully finish this in 2 chapters; you guys would like that right, having this arc done in 2 chapters? In this chapter, we will have the our orange-haired (bitch) navigator come in, aren't you excited about it, I'm not! To me she is pretty much a greedy bitch the entire series with minimum moments where she doesn't seem shallow.**

**That doesn't mean I'm going to constantly bash on her that would not be the right thing to do. so I will take the high root and treat her like all the other characters. That does not mean that Patrick is going to listen to everything that she commands, he is going to do whatever he can to stop her mindless corruption…or something like that.**

**Ok, let's continue the story now, let's go!**

**Chapter 7: Big noses and orange female dogs. My patients is tested.**

* * *

I had to say, I was amazed at Zoro's physical strength and stamina. It took us a good 25 minutes to reach the island, and even though the swordsman was huffing and puffing for air, he continued on without a single complaint. He must be really loyal to Luffy or something…or I'm just imagining it.

_Oh thank god! _I mentally said as I let out a breath that I had no idea I had been holding in the first place. I could clearly see a dock and town in the small distance between the island and us. Parked at the dock was a rather…flamboyant ship. Just by laying my eyes on that unholy abomination of different colors and wood, I could easily tell this was Buggy's ship.

As we parked our ship right on the docks next to the Moon Moon of all boats, Zoro stopped rowing and fell back into a sweaty mess. His breaths were ragged and I was worried that he was going to pass out. I stared at my new comrade in worry for a few moments before carefully hopping out of the ship and onto the wooden dock that creaked with my added weight.

I stared down at Zoro's crumbled form and waited patiently for him to catch his breath and his heart to slow down its throbbing to circulate blood throughout his body. After a good 10 minutes, his breathing was returning back into a calmer, natural state, I decided to reach out with my hand in an attempt to help him out of the wooden construction.

Zoro spotted my hand but decided not to take it. Instead he put his 3 swords at his side and hopped out of the ship. He still looked a little winded, which I guess was normal sense he pretty much rowed that boat like a crack-head followed a trail of drugs.

"Hey thanks for doing that." I thanked him. It was the least I could do for what I just put him through. "If it weren't for you, we'd probably still be out in the ocean trying to get to this island to try and find Luffy. So thanks." Zoro looked absolutely surprised at my gratitude.

"L-look, it's not a problem." He grumbled out while scratching the side of his head. I noticed his cheeks had a red tinge now; I guess he wasn't used to taking compliments I suppose. "Let's just go and find Luffy." He told me. "So where is he?" He asked me. I obviously knew the answer, but I couldn't say that outright, that would look rather suspicious and I didn't need suspicion this early on.

"Well, if I had to guess what we should do, we should go into town and ask if anyone if they've seen a large bird flying over, that could help." I told him my fake plan that wouldn't even be needed to be used. "After that, we can ask where they saw it fly to. Find the bird, then finding Luffy shouldn't be that hard after." Zoro nodded in acceptance of the idea, but my mind was on other things, even as he began waling towards the abandoned town.

_If my memory is correct, then Buggy should be launching one of his amazing 'Buggy Balls'. So I guess the only problem now is finding exactly where Buggy, Luffy, and Nami will be._ I cursed my memory. I knew what was going to happen 'in' the situation, I just didn't know 'where' it was. _Weren't they on a building or something like that? _Well, at least that narrowed it down somewhat. _Well, it's not like I'll need to figure it out; I can just follow where the blast came from which will lead us to Luffy. _Now I just need to wait for the bla-.

-BOOM-

Zoro and I jumped a few inches as a large explosion echoed through the vicinity. We both looked in surprise at the line-shaped smoke cloud rising up from inside the town. Just by looking at the eruption from here, I could easily tell it had to have done some major damage to this municipality.

"What was that?" Zoro questioned up ahead. I noticed that his hand had slowly drifted to his swords.

"If we're lucky, it's our idiot of a captain getting into trouble." I said running passed the swordsman in a hurry to get to where the Buggy ball had been launched. "Let's hurry ok! The faster we find Luffy the faster we can get off this island!" I yelled as he began to catch up to me.

"Yeah, ok!" he said from behind, let's hope we can make it in time!

* * *

I thought that the jog to the explosion area would have been easy seeing as navigating through the town wasn't that much of a difficulty. On top of that, the smoke cloud from earlier hadn't completely faded away, so that made things even less effortful. Sadly, like earlier, I didn't take into consideration other small details that would hinder us on our quick journey.

"ZORO! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING!?"

My yells of frustration were directed towards my directionally inept partner. Amazingly, even though the directions were still very clear, he somehow managed to get himself going in a completely different direction. It baffled me beyond belief, how can someone get lost so easily!?

"I'M GOING TO THE EXPLOSION! WHERE ELSE WOULD I BE GOING!?" He yelled back, equally angry with me for yelling at him.

"THEN WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU RUNNING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION!?" I roared back at him, because yes, he had started running in the opposite direction. "ARE YOU SOME MENTALLY HANDICAPPED GPS!?" I knew that the insult would make no sense to him, but to me it made perfect sense.

"Ah' what!?" He said confused. But I didn't care, right now, we had to get to the building as fast as possible, the time it took between the explosion happening and Zoro appearing were small. We had only been running 5 minutes and I still didn't know how long it was going to be before the pirates jumped her.

"God damnit!" I yelled in frustration. I ran up to Zoro, grabbed him by the wrist, and yanked him in the right direction. I didn't pay attention to him, even as I heard him sputter at me to let him go. All that mattered right now was that we had to make it to the scene before my recklessness gets someone killed. "Since you don't have enough common sense to actually follow the explosion, then I guess it's up to me to bring you there!" If I was going to have to deal with this for the rest of my time here, then I didn't know what I was going to do.

"DAMNIT PATRICK! LET ME GO!" He yelled at me, but I ignored his pleading; I had to leg it now!

We had finally come upon the scene of the explosion right at the middle. I noticed a line of destroyed debris that I could only guess were the remains of several houses that stretched for at least a block or 2. I didn't bother to keep my gaze upon them, instead I stared at a 2-story building a little off in the distance. Written on a big, wooden sign was 'Drinker's Pub' in large, bold words.

_That's it, right there! _Even from here I could here the loud, jolly laughter of many people that had to belong to the buggy pirates. _So that means we might just make it in time! _I wanted to let out a sigh of relief, but I wouldn't do it just yet, not until we finish this up!

"Let go of me damnit!" Zoro yelled, yanking his hand from my loosened grip. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and shook me violently in anger. "What the hell was that for you idiot!?" He roared at me.

"L-look!" I said shoving him away. "We're here, alright! And frankly, if I left you the way you were it could've taken us forever to reach this!" I said back with equal ferocity. "And besides, I found Luffy!" I told him, hoping that my words would calm him in some way.

"What, where?" He said looking around in surprise while putting down his hand that had been reaching for me in mid-reach. "I don't see him anywhere." All right lady Fortuna, let's see how good my luck is going to be today. "Where is he?" Zoro questioned with a single raised eyebrow.

"He's up there." I answered while pointing to the building that held the invading pirates in its roof. "So we have to get up there." I explained to him with a rushed tone in my voice. "Right about now would be great." My voice had a slight tinge of exasperation.

"Heh? How the heck do you know something like that?" Zoro questioned further. We did not have time for this! Something had to be done quickly!

"Look, remember how I said I had special abilities, well this has to do with it! And right now, I can sense that they -he is in danger and is about to die! So if you don't get to the top of that building in the next few seconds then we are not going to have a captain!" I was practically yelling now; I needed this idiot to listen to me. Thankfully, my words got through his impenetrable skull.

"At the top of the building, right?" He said in a calm tone, but I can see his narrowed eyes. I nodded for an answer. "Ok, that makes it easier then." He said in a mumble, before the next thing I knew he was off, sprinting towards the building like a bullet. A bullet with 3 swords, green hair, and could kill you in a flash.

When he arrived at the building's front doors, instead of going through them like a normal human, he jumped up high into the air. He used a window's sill to push off even higher into the air, where he then landed safely onto the roof. I kept my eyes glued forward, even as Zoro ran forward and out of sight do to the angle.

"Ya' know what, fuck it." I muttered out, I was going to be seeing as I was going to be seeing stuff like that the entire time I was in this world, I might as well try and get used to it. "Well, I guess I should get going to." I told myself as I began running towards the building as well.

As I ventured forward I whisked the combat-pass from my pocket and into my hand. I gripped it tightly as I mentally prepared myself for battle. Then without further delay I began to activate my fullbring. Like the night before, my focus was put onto the memory of my fight with Morgan.

"Wha-what the?" I said in surprise as the fullbring immidietly activated. I was definitely not expecting it to activate this quickly, it took a good 10 minutes the first time to activate it, but now, it activated without barely any problems. "Oh whatever." I grumbled out, I was completely over with…well everything in general.

As I continued running forward, the soft thrumming of my swastika-shaped fullbring filled my ears, but I did my best to not pay attention to it as I sprinted at the building in hopes of helping my comrades in battle. And thankfully, it didn't take long before I arrived at the pub's doors.

I didn't waist time, and shoved through the double doors (Why Zoro didn't use it was beyond me. Maybe to look cooler?) and stormed inside. In all honesty, if I wasn't in this situation right now, I would've love to come to this pub, it looked rather homey. Sadly, I was in this situation.

I easily spotted the stairs, and dashed towards it and began my ascent to the roof. It didn't take very long though; after a few seconds of trekking upward, I was brought to a open doorway that lead me onto the pub's roof. I quickly took in the scene before me.

Gathered upon the right side of the roof were the buggy pirates, I could easily tell who they were from their rather goofy appearance. They were all gathered in front of a large tent with their pirate insignia upon it. They were all cheering the name of their beloved captain.

On the other side was a Caged Luffy by a completely terrified woman that I recognized to be Nami, the queen bitch herself! It wasn't all that hard to tell it was her; her shapely body and orange hair sorta' gave it away. I also took note of the large cannon on wheels that was pointed in Luffy's direction.

In the center of this escapade was Zoro. He had All 3 swords out and ready for combat against a rather ridiculous individual. He was a slim, yet muscular blue-haired man with an appearance resembling that of a clown with a big, red nose. His face was covered with make up, just like a clown. He had crossbones going down his face forming an X and 2 blue lines near both of his eyes finished off with red lipstick.

He donned a striped white and red shirt, white gloves, a sash around his waist, and a pair of loose pants reaching to his calves. Just above it were a pair of striped socks and pointy shoes. Hanging from his shoulders there was a orange, fur-lined captain's coat, and upon his head he had an orange hat with his jolly roger on it. Just by looking at this man I could only guess he was Buggy, I mean who else could look that ridiculous!?

_Well, there is Invankov. _I thought with a look of disgust. I can only hope I never meet that man...woman...thing.

Buggy the clown held a knife in his right hand while holding 4 between the fingers on his left. As he stared down Zoro with a dastardly grin I heard a soft cackle escape between his teeth, even over the chanting of his crew. And then without any warning Buggy charged our swordsman.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA DIE FLASHILY!" He yelled while closing in on him. Sadly, his idiotic charge would get him none of that. Because just as he was in Zoro's range, he took advantage of the small distance between them.

"Whoa." Was the only thing I could mutter as I saw Zoro's blades disappear. The next thing my eyes were able to register was Buggy flopping on the ground bisected, his right forearm and everything just above the right knee cut off. "Amazing, I didn't even see him cut Buggy."

"Wow, he's weak!" Luffy said.

"Yeah, that wasn't much of fight at all." Zoro muttered while sheathing his swords with a –shink-.

"What, no way." Nami said while staring at the scene in disbelief.

Then the rest of Buggy's pirate crew started to...laugh? It was subtle at first, just a small chuckle and titter, but it soon blew up into a loud guffaw. It wasn't a jolly laugh or a sad laugh, this was a knowing laugh, Like they knew something we didn't. I felt like whatever this 'something' was it was not going to end well for us.

"What the heck; they're laughing?" Luffy said in confusion. "Why are they laughing?"

"They're captain is lying dead on the ground dead, and they're laughing?" Nami questioned rhetorically. "What is wrong with these guys?" Well, judging by the way they dress it isn't to hard to make a guess.

"Fellas? What do you find so damn funny?" He questioned while staring at them, unaware of the rising torso of Buggy appeared behind him.

_Hold on…oh crap! _My mind had caught up with the situation once I realized what was going on. I was too caught up in the situation to register just what was supposed to be happening. _Crap-crap-crap! _I inwardly cursed as I saw Buggy's severed arm float up with a knife gripped in its hand.

"Zoro, behind you!" I yelled him while charging at the now floating hand. Thankfully, I had the advantage of surprise on my hands, so no one had expected my appearance. Once I reached the floated appendage behind Zoro, I swung my fullbring as if it were a bat. 1 of the swastika's arms were able to hit the offending threat, affectively smacking it away and into its owner's face.

"OW THAT HURT!" He cried out in pain. Was it from being hit by his arm, or the fact that I hit his arm with this weapon of spiritual origin. "YOU BASTARD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT HURT!?" He yelled at while his floating arm took a finger off his knife and used it to point at me.

"You were trying to stab Zoro! I had every right to do that!" I yelled back at him in anger at his sheer nerve to argue back at what he was trying to do. Ok, more like annoyance that anger.

"Oh, hey Patrick, when did you get here?" Luffy said in his usual jolly manner. As if he wasn't trapped in a cage.

"I was on my way to save your ass from this mess." I told him. "And what a fine mess you got yourself into." I said while looking at the many enemies around us.

"Hey, it's not as bad as you think it is." He argued back. All I did was shake my head in annoyance.

"Guys? Not that I don't mind you 2 arguing, but do you think we can move onto more important things." Zoro pointed out while keeping his eyes on the still dismembered Buggy. "Like what the hell is wrong with this guy?" That got a grin from Buggy as he started to speak.

"Now that you're all done arguing amongst yourselves, look upon the amazing power that I've been gifted with!" He said haughtily as he began to piece his body back together. "I've eaten the Chop Chop fruit; that's the name of the devil fruit that's given me my powers." He made clear. "I'm a Chop Chop person and now I can't be defeated by the saw!" He exclaimed before laughing loudly.

"He ate a devil fruit? I always thought that those were just stories pirates told." Nami said in shock.

"So he's a Chop Chop person, man that's freaky." You have no right to say that you rubber freak.

While everyone was staring at Buggy with looks of surprise because of his devil fruit abilities, my thoughts were different. And I decided to make them know.

"Man…that's just…lame." I said with deadpanned face.

"What do you mean lame, my powers are amazing!" Buggy argued back in anger. I could see veins throb under the skin on his forehead. "I'll have you know, with it's power, I have accumulated a bounty of 15,000,000 berries!" He said proudly while putting both fist on his hips.

"Yeah, that's true, but that still doesn't help the fact that you and your tomato nose fucking suck balls." I kept my voice impassive and my face expressionless, even as Buggy's face became the color of his nose, and his crew gasped in shock and fear. "So why don't you at your shitty schnoz get the hell off this island." This guy is really getting on me nerves more than he should be able to.

Everything was silent, well except for Luffy's constant laughing. "Hehehehehehehe! Your right Patrick, his nose is weird! Hehehehehehehe!" He managed to say before falling back into a fit of giggles. That only seemed to make Buggy even angrier. "Now get me out of here so I can kick that stupid big nose's ass." He complained while grabbing onto the bars of his miniature prison.

"WOULD YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT MY NOSE!" Buggy said in pure rage. "MY NOSE IS PERFECTLY NORMAL I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW; THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT!" He then brought his attention to Luffy. "AND YOU! WHO'S ASS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING TO KICK!?" He questioned Luffy who just grinned in response.

"Yours, you big nose!" He grinned confidently. Sadly, his comment was the straw that broke the camels back; scratch that, I think that the insult that pissed off the clown sounds better. It's only because Buggy was a clown though.

"SHUT UP ABOUT MY NOSE!" He yelled as his right hand that held a dagger shot off from his arm and flew to the caged Luffy. You would expect a normal, sane person to shut their eyes in fear or find a way to move out of the way of the incoming projectile, even with their limited space.

Nope, not Luffy.

He caught it in between his teeth.

"Buggy! When I get out of here I'm gonna' kick your ass!" He said while keeping his teeth clenched against the flat of the bladed weapon. His powerful jaws put more force upon it, causing it to break in twine.

"You, kick my ass?" Buggy found that funny and began laughing. "Sorry to say this, but all of you are going to die today; it will be by my hands!" He said savagely. "So if you are going to do any 'ass kicking' you better do it soon!" In response to his words, his crew began to laugh at our dismay.

Then Luffy began to laugh again. "I refuse to die!" He said loud and proud. "Zoro, Patrick! Get going!" He said. We stared at Luffy, who seemed to be staring deeply into both of our eyes. Was he trying to send us some kind of psychic message? I heard Nami say that if we had a plan, we'd better do it quick.

When Zoro began to grin, i could only guess that our little mental chat was over. "Yeah, I got ya'." He said.

"Let's do it!" I said afterwards. I didn't want to feel left out, even if I didn't know what was going on. Actually wait…now I remember.

"Hey big nose, over here!" I yelled at Buggy. "Come get me you red nosed prick!" I was doing this in hopes of getting his attention. Judging by the way his face contorted in rage, I think it might've been working.

"I'LL KILL YOU FOR MAKING FUN OF MY NOSE!" Yep, it worked. Buggy leaped and began slashing at me with his daggers. I moved my legs in reverse while using my projected fullbring as some makeshift shield. Surprisingly the fullbring made very good protection against Buggy's assault, I guess that made sense since it was a guard.

I made sure that during our scuffle that we had constantly moved backwards, just enough to be passed that cannon. After a few more steps, we had progressed passed the cannon, so I guess I could start the trickier part of my plan.

Bringing my fullbring back, I swung it around while twisting my upper-body to the right. With the way I swung my arm along with twisting my body, I was not only able to hit buggy, but drag and fling him into his crew with unnatural strength.

_You can't keep doing this to me one piece physics! _I cried out in frustration. _Either make me love you or hate you! _Seriously, it was either fucking me over or just making me feel like a boss!_ Make up your mind damnit!_

As Buggy got out of his pile of men (Yuck) I rushed my way over back to Zoro, Nami, and Luffy. Zoro was busy trying to lift the cannon and flip it so that it would face the enemy pirates. With a final grunt, he was able to tip the weapon the other way so that the end of its barrel faced our newest enemy.

Buggy seemed to have realized what danger he was in after getting out of his man pile (Still not comfortable saying that.) and his skin instantly turned 50 shades of grey (Enough with the innuendoes) before turning completely white.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! CRAP! THE CANNON IS POINTED AT US!" Buggy cried out as his nearly popped out of his head as his crew cried out in fear, now in full-blown panic.

"Hurry! Light the thing!" I yelled while running towards the other side. I didn't want to get caught in the blast when that cannon goes off. One piece physics or no one piece physics, I would not survive that. "Hurry up already!"

"R-right!" Nami said as she pulled out a matchbox and took out a match.

"WAIT! JUST WAIT!" Buggy called out while holding his hands out in a placating motion. "THAT CANNON IS STILL FILLED WITH A SPECIAL BUGGY BALL!" He explained. "I DON'T WANT TO GO OUT LIKE THIS; DONE IN BY MY OWN BALLS!" What is with all these innuendoes!

Nami didn't listen or just didn't particularly care as she took a lit match and held it upon the wick, instantly lighting it. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT YOU UNGRATFEUL LITTLE GIRL!" I heard buggy say, though I didn't pay much attention to his voice, I was busy trying to deactivate my fullbring so that I could cover my ears. I knew once that thing went off, the explosion was going to be big. And as all people know, explosions are-…

**-BOOM-**

...-loud.

On a good note, my fullbring did deactivate. Bad note, the cannon went off. I was almost blown off my feet as a massive explosion rocked the building. It was accompanied by a blinding light and an ear piercing screech follow it. I couldn't tell what was really going on after that, I was just too stunned to move my body. All I could do was stand frozen while gripping me combat-pass as tightly as possible.

The next thing I knew something was gripping the back of my shirt and I felt the ground under my feet disappear. What was going on? I couldn't tell. Because I hadn't looked away from the large explosion, my eyes had been blinded from the flash. Everything was blurred and full of black spots as my eyes did their very best to refine my vision.

My body once again made contact with ground, and it suddenly like yesterday when I went to catch that girl; my back hurt like hell. The only thing that felt different was that this ground was very slanted, so that made the landing even more painful. So just as soon as that happened I was on the ground groaning, very confused as to what I should be holding.

The piercing in my ears was slowly fading away and I could just barely make out a muffled voice yelling at me. I wish they would go away, or at least shut up. I had more things to focus on, like figuring out which bones in my body were either broken or fractured. Sadly the person yelling at me had other plans that I didn't agree with. So when just as my vision was returning along with my hearing, I felt someone kick me in the side.

"Get up you idiot." I heard Zoro grunt out. With my sight returned, I found Zoro over my downed body, staring at me in annoyance. I also noted the fact that he was struggling to carry the caged Luffy in both of his arms, but I couldn't care less about it at the moment. "What the hell happened to you? Ya' froze up after the cannon went off." He asked which I answered with a groan of pain.

"Sorry." I said while trying to stumble to my feet. It was even harder, considering that I was now on the roof of a house. I wondered why nothing was broken; it's one piece physics. "Were you the 1 that pulled me off the building and onto here." He nodded. "Well thanks." I mumbled while looking at the long line of demolished buildings, including the building that we were standing on.

"We should probably get out of here." I muttered, but loud enough for everyone to see. "I don't know if the Buggy pirates were dead, but let's not find out." I continued which he nodded with a grunt. I then turned to Nami; I had subconsciously put a scowl on my face. I wondered how long I can handle keeping my composure around this bitch? "Now Luffy, do you want to tell us who your friend us?" I asked, trying to move the plot along.

"Oh, that's our new navigator." Luffy said while scratching his head, seemingly unbothered by the fact that he was in a cage. That little turd, his calmness in this situation was getting on my nerves. Sure, I knew that this had to happen so that we could get Nami, but that didn't mean that I was happy about the little escapade that me and Zoro had to go on just to reach the retard.

"I'm not to sure about that." Nami said. She seemed to be in some sort of daze from the what just happened. "Who are you guys anyways?" She questioned.

"Look, let's worry about who we are later. Right now, let's just get out of here before Luffy does something stupid to put us in even deeper shit." I said to them.

"What? What do ya' mean by that Patrick?" Luffy complained at my tiny jab at him, "What did I do wrong?" He questioned.

Zoro decided to take over. "Because of your little stunt earlier, me and Patrick had to chase after you by boat, and we nearly lost you!" He grunted out angrily. "Then when we get here, we find that you've been trapped by a bunch of weirdo pirates, so we have to rescue your sorry ass; just what the hell goes on in that empty head of yours!?" He yelled while slowly walking towards the roof's edge. Did he plan to jump it?

"It's not my fault!" Luffy argued back. "How was I supposed to know that bird was that big?" He said. "And if you guys didn't make me feel so hungry earlier, we wouldn't be in this mess!" So he's trying to push the blame on us huh!? "Besides." He started with a grin. "Now we have a brand new navigator, so you guys should be thanking me!" He said while finishing it off with a laugh.

Zoro was growling in anger, while I was silent to the point it was eerie. Nami backed up a few steps, probably feeling the waves of killing intent we were leaking that our idiot captain was to oblivious to comprehend.

_Ok._ I growled in head angrily. _I think it's time I made my own form of karma. _Oh Luffy was gonna' pay! I didn't care if he was my captain or not, I was not going to deal with this. I walked up to Zoro's side and began to speak.

"Zoro." I said, gaining his attention. "I would have to guess that we are 3 meters off the ground, give or take a few inches." I pointed out. He looked at me, his anger momentarily gave way to confusion at the sudden fact I pointed out. "I should also point out the fact that Luffy is a rubber man, and is now extremely durable." I can see realization in his eyes, followed by a devious smirk. "The number 1 rule of karma: it is a cruel bitch." I didn't need to say that, I had given enough clues for Zoro to figure out what I was saying.

"Hey Zoro, what are you doing?" Our caged captain said as Zoro positioned the cage he was in over his head. He suddenly began to lean it forward. "H-hey Zoro, what are doing, you could drop me!?" He said. But his words were replaced with screams as Zoro dropped him off the rood, where he plummeted to the ground.

"Yes, karma is a bitch." I said with a devilish grin, even as I heard Luffy with the cage in tow smash into the ground. It became a little bigger as I saw Nami's look of shock on her face.

God I could be a prick at times. Not that I hated it.

* * *

**Yesh! The 7****th**** chapter is completed. As you can see, Patrick is getting into his darker side, and shall not deal with Luffy's constant bullshit idiotism. Like Nami, he isn't going to have none of that. Also, I hope you can see that Zoro and Patrick are getting along swimmingly, I plan to keep that up. Unlike other insert-fanfics, I plan to actually have the 2 of them have a more stable relationship. **

**Anyways, the 8****th**** chapter will be out whenever that happens, so ta-ta and good bye til next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**And we are back! Finally! Expect this arc to be finished within the next 2 chapters or so because I do not plan on staying in the beginning arcs long. What I want to do is just get past all these arcs as quick as possible and get to Loguetown as soon as possible. The only 2 arcs I might make long are the Baratie arc and the Arlong park arc, since they are very long.**

**Ok, let's move on with this shtick.**

**Chapter 8: The Furry, the clown, and what the hell is going on?**

**Beta: Undying Soul98**

* * *

"Why the heck did you do that Zoro?"

"That was payback for all the crap you put us through!"

"I didn't do anything wrong! I was just trying to get us something to eat!"

"Well maybe you should start thinking with your brain and not your stomach!"

"I'm always thinking with my brain!"

"Your brain and your stomach are completely different organs Luffy."

"WOULD YOU IDIOTS STOP ARGUING!?"

I turned my head away in annoyance after my last comment. I wanted to scoot myself so that I was facing away from Luffy, but that sounded a little too childish. Luffy on the other hand 'hmphed' like the man-child he was and did exactly what I wanted to do. Zoro was seated on the pet shop's porch. Oddly enough it, the pet shop was called 'PET FOOD'; what an original name. Nami was seated on the other side of the porch, an angry expression on her face from our constant arguing.

After we dropped Luffy off the roof for his stupid actions, we went down to see how he was (I had to sorta' rock climb it down since I'm not super strong yet). Luckily, the drop not only broke the cage but the idiot was completely fine! Well, he had a few bumps on his head, but he was fine none-the-less!

While Nami questioned just how Luffy survived without a scratch, Luffy complained to Zoro about how he dropped him, who decided not to answer him because he was just too annoyed with him at the moment. After a little coercing on my part, I told them that it would be smart to leave the area, just in case any more pirates showed up. They agreed, though Nami didn't seem to trust us that much.

I guess that's how we ended up here. After a little bit of searching, we deemed this shop to be a safe place to rest; that was 15 minutes ago. Most of the time was spent with Luffy being angry with Zoro and me for dropping him, not that we cared. Luffy had what was coming to him, like what _was_ going to be coming for him if he pulls this crap again, which was probably going to happen.

_I really needed to learn Haki, really fast. _I reminded myself. I did not need Luffy's constant stupidity making my life here hell. _I suppose learning observation Haki won't be to hard a task. _I thought. _I could just ask Zoro to swing some wooden swords at me, and I could try and guess where they're coming from. _That could be a great start for Haki training!

"Hey Patrick, I gotta' ask you something." I heard Zoro say, so I turned my attention to the swordsman. "Back when we searching for Luffy, you knew where he was and you didn't even see him, how did you do that?" Ah, I knew he would ask that sooner or later.

"Wait, you did that? That's so cool!" Luffy said, and I could literally see stars in his eyes. "Do you have some kind of sixth sense thing!?" He questioned with excitement.

"Actually yes, yes I do." I said, making up the lie right there on the spot. "My powers allow me to sense others at far-off distances." I explained my fake powers. "Though it's not really reliable at times, and it usually decides to work randomly."

"Does it have to do with the plaque of wood you were using?" I heard Nami ask, which I frankly wish she didn't. Not that I didn't want someone to, as it would help build my cover-up, it was just that the sound of her shrill voice made my blood pressure go up bit-by-bit.

"In a sense, yes. The plaque of wood I was using is apart of my powers." I explained cryptically.

"Really! How!?" My bone-headed captain asked again. Instead of answering, I decided to just put a finger to my lips and shush him.

"As they say, 'Speech is silver. Silence is golden'." And I planned on staying as silent as long as possible until I think out what to say.

"Awww, come on!" Luffy whined but I ignored him. Sometimes, it's best to ignore idiots.

I was suddenly dragged from my thoughts as something sitting in the middle of the pet shop's porch caught my eye. Something living.

"Hey guys." I called out curiously to everyone gaining their attention. I pointed towards said living being and asked. "When did that dog get there?" I hadn't even noticed it until now, which was surprising, since it was completely out in the open. God, this is just like that island incident from earlier!

"Dog?" Everyone questioned at the same time while turning to the dog located where I had pointed. Yes, sitting on the porch was a small, white dog with beady, black eyes. It was sitting there. If it weren't breathing, I would have thought it was a statue.

"Hey a dog." Nami said with a smile while walking over to the dog and crouching down in front of it. "I wonder why it's here all alone?" she asked while reaching at a hand to pat its head. Hold on, wasn't that Chouchou? Yes!

-CHOMP-

Just as I had expected it to happen, as soon as Nami's hand was centimetres from his head. Chouchou reached out and bit her hand. To say that I was pleased would be an underestimate, because I was having a hard time keeping a wide grin off my face.

Nami's face was frozen with that same smile as her mind tried to comprehend what was happening. That facade was quickly demolished as her face contorted into pain and anger…but mostly pain though.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHH! GET THIS DAMN DOG OFF ME!" Nami yelled in pain as she swung her arm around in hopes that the dog would let go. But Chouchou was too persistent and kept at it. "DAMNIT YOU DUMB DOG! LET GO!" She was now trying to get him off by gripping him by the back of his neck and pulling.

Luffy was laughing at her while Zoro just stared. Me, I was just sitting there on the ground with a sadistic grin of pleasure. This went on for a few more seconds before a voice rang out behind us.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing to Chouchou!?" We turned our heads to stare at an old man that was walking towards us. He was short, and wearing framed glasses. Over his yellow lined shirt with dark green pants, he wore a brown armour chest-plate with gauntlets. "Stop hurting him right now!" He yelled at us again.

"And who might you be old man?" Zoro asked.

"Old man?" He repeated Zoro's words. "I'll have you know I'm the mayor of this town!" He said rather loudly while glaring at us. "Now what do you think you're doing picking on Chouchou?" Well, better diffuse this situation.

"I'm sorry if you think that we were harming your dog in anyway." I said while getting up from my spot on the ground and giving a small bow. "You see, Nami over there was trying to pet Chouchou, but it seemed that he isn't the petting type." I explained while turning my head to Nami who was now grasping her injured hand as she was finally able to get the dog to let go.

"I see, well Chouchou isn't really that friendly to most people." He said while going over to the dog and scratching the top of his head. Chouchou seemed to enjoy it, and eagerly pushed his head into his palm. "I apologize, if he hurt you miss." The mayor apologized to Nami. He then brought his attention to all of us, "So what exactly are you four doing here; ever since Buggy arrived we never get visitors." He said with a hint of distaste on his tongue.

"Well, we didn't really know this town had been taken over by pirates before we got here." I explained. "You see, our idiot friend there…" I said pointing at Luffy earning a 'Hey!' from him. "Got sent overboard by a wave while we were sailing." I lied between my teeth. Couldn't exactly say we were pirates. "This island seemed to be the closest around, so we decided to check here." Yes, let's what else I can do to falsify this. "After that we ran into the Buggy Pirates, and we found that he had been captured, so we decided to bust him out." I explained my fib and the older gentleman had a look of shock.

"You had a run in with the buggy pirates!?" He said in shock, which I nodded in response.

"Yes, we did, we were able to fend them off long enough before we could escape." I said, which he nodded to, though he had a look of worry. "There's no need to fret, we're perfectly fine." I assured him. I sure knew how to lie; I almost felt bad.

"Hey Patrick what are you saying, I didn't fall into the ocean, if I did, I would've sunk." Luffy said. "Don't you remember, I was caught by a gia-!"

"Luffy, shut up." I said in an annoyed tone before turning back to the mayor apologetically. "Luffy is 'special', if you catch my drift." I said while putting as much emphasis on the word 'special' as I could. I turned back to Luffy, and with the best fake smile I could muster I said. "Isn't that right Luffy?"

Luffy grinned. "Yeah! I'm super special!" He said, grinning like an idiot. Good, if I try hard enough I could pass him off as some mentally handicapped retard.

"Oh…well, ok." The mayor said, buying my deception. "As long as you're all ok, I suppose it's alright if none of you are injured." He said finishing the rest of his sentence in a mumble. "But you should really leave this island, if what you said is true, then those dastardly pirates are probably looking for you."

"We will, don't worry." I told him. The old mayor nodded at me before walking on the porch and walking through the front door of the pet shop. After that I had most of the attention on me.

"Hey Patrick, why did you lie to the old guy?" He asked confused.

"Well I couldn't go out and say we were pirates now could we." I told him. "I don't think it would go well with him if we did, seeing as his town has currently been taken over." Seriously, this should be common knowledge, even for Nami! Well, in their defence, they aren't the brightest of people.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Luffy said while putting his enclosed right fist into his left palm.

"That's some silver tongue you have on you Patrick." Zoro said with an almost patronizing grin. "I thought you weren't that type of person." He finished.

"What can I say, sometimes you have to lie your way out of a situation; lying is just something I'm good at." True, out all my friends, I was always the good liar. I guess nobody expected the person who usually acted like such a good person to give false information. It also helped that Johnson had a tendency to get himself into trouble and I had to bail him out. "Lying is just a great way to get out of trouble." I finished speaking, I saw a small, almost unnoticeable look of agreement on Nami's face. Not that I cared.

When the old mayor came back out with a dog dish filled to the brim with dog food was the moment we stopped our earlier conversation. Was that for the Chouchou? It was the only logical answer, unless he was going to eat it. Now that I think about it, Luffy probably would've eaten it to.

"So this dogs name is Chouchou?" Nami asked, while staring at the dog with a distrusting glare.

"Whys he just sitting there like that; he sure is a lazy dog?" Luffy questioned with his usual smile.

"He's guarding this store." The mayor answered earning a soft 'huh?' from them.

"The store?" Nami questioned before her eyes flickered to the pet store. "Oh! You mean the pet food shop." She realized after a second.

"That's right." The mayor said before walking towards Chouchou, who had positioned himself just a few feet from the shop when we weren't noticing. "Here you go." He muttered while setting the dish in front of him. Chouchou enthusiastically went up to the bowl and began devouring its contents.

"And the man who used to run this store was a very close friend of mine." He explained while crouching down in front of Chouchou. "When he passed away, I assumed the responsibility of taking care of Chouchou." The mayor said.

"My condolences." I added in.

"There's no need for you to say something like that." He said while getting up and walking back towards the store. "He died three months ago; I've gotten over it." The mayor disappeared into the building. "He had been fighting his illness for a very long time, so it was no surprise that he passed on."

"Don't tell me he has he been waiting for his master all this time?" Zoro asked rhetorically after being silent for so long.

"That seems to be the consensus." He said walking back out from the pet shop and sitting himself on the porch. "But I know that's not true, Chouchou's a smart dog. I'm sure he's known for some time now that his master isn't coming back." Wow that was depressing; like something out of a movie. My heart was aching a little for the little guy, but it's not like I could do anything for the little guy, that was all in the past.

"Then why does he stay here at the store?" Nami asked him which the mayor sighed to.

"It's his treasure." The old mayor said after a moment. "He's guarding it; his master left him with this shop so that's why he protects it." Ok, I have a new respect for this dog. "I've tried to bring him back to my place so that he won't be out in the elements, but he won't take so much as I step from here." This dog has major balls, if they haven't been taken off already.

Chouchou finished his meal, so he picked the bowl up in his mouth and walked over to the mayor, where he dropped the metallic dish with a –clang-. All was silent for a moment; I could here the sounds of birds chirping, but besides that, nothing. Even the naturally loud Luffy, was unusually silent after Chouchou's little tale.

It was unusually peaceful.

But that only lasted for a short moment.

"RRRRROOOOOAAAAAAAARRRR!"

A Beastly roar echoed somewhere off in the distance followed by a large –boom-. As the roaring caught all our attention and Zoro was instantly on guard while my hand grasped the combat-pass in my pocket. Luffy…well, Luffy was really calm; unaffected by the fact that whatever was coming could pretty much chew our head off.

"What's that sound?" Nami questioned in a worried tone while looking off at some distant houses where the roaring was coming from.

"THAT'S BEAST TAMER MOHJI! WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" The mayor cried out in fear as he ran over to Nami's side.

"Beast tamer? What do you mean by that!?" Nami said, now genuinely worried for her safety. But the mayor would not or could not answer as he hopped around while waving his arms in fear, trying to get us to go. Instead he ran off, Nami decided to follow after him.

_Beast tamer Mohji, Isn't that the lion guy? _I thought while searching through my memories. _Yeah, he's that weird guy with the lion. _He wasn't that strong. Except for the lion, he was practically useless. _Actually, now that I'm on the topic of useless, I haven't been much use. _Sure I might have been pretty hard on myself, but in reality, I'm pretty sure I'm the weakest out of the three of us. Why Luffy made me the first-mate was beyond me.

Sure, I was physically strong (By human standards), but compared to Zoro and Luffy, I couldn't do shit. Then there was my Fullbring, which I could barely control besides activating it. That was going to be my main source of power here, so if I didn't learn how to control it quickly, I was probably going to die. _The only reason I've really made it this far is because I've been using my brain. _True, I was the type of person to use my brain instead of my fists. It didn't matter if I was muscular or fit, it just wasn't my thing.

_But now I'm being forced to fight in a way that I'm not used to. _I was actually very grateful that out of all the powers I could have received, it was this power. It was because it was a long ranged ability that made it so much better than other equally flashy abilities. _So I better learn how to use it quickly, because the next arc is going to be bad for me if I don't learn it quick enough__. So how could I learn to utilize my powers in such a short time?_

"RRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!"

I breathed in; I breathed out.

I was about to do something really stupid.

"Hey Luffy, Zoro." I called for them. I breathed in before breathing out again. "I'm going to take on this Mohji guy, leave him to me." I said. This is without-a-doubt the dumbest thing I've done. It was probably even dumber than when I decided to take on all those Marines yesterday.

They both stared at me. "Ok, I guess you can have him." Luffy said with a grin. "Beat the crap out of that guy, ok!" He cheered. Zoro nodded with a grin.

"Right, got it." I said before walking towards the loud growling coming down the street. I was glad to know my new comrades also agreed with my stupid idea. I had already pulled out my combat-pass and activated my Fullbring as I walked toward the sound of roaring. A gigantic shadow cast itself onto some buildings, and just by the shadows size alone I knew I was not going to enjoy the coming events.

"Well, holy shit." When I saw the giant beast I would be battling against turn the corner into view that was the only thing my head could produce. It wasn't said fearfully, or shocked; it wasn't even sad. The way I said it was just full of disbelief. How could a beast such as this grow so large? And how would I deal with even larger creatures if I ended up going into the Grand Line?

It was a lion. A giant…albino…lion. It stood around a meter tall and around the size of a bus. It had big claws and blades for fangs. It towered over my body easily, and just staring at it sent shivers up and down my spine. Just what did I get myself into!? I gotta' get away before I become this things chew-toy! Actually, from the way that thing was eyeing me it must be thinking 'Probably tastes like chicken'; I hope I tasted terrible, and that he would choke on me and die.

_No I can't think that. _I thought while trying to regain some shred of confidence. _You made the choice to do this, ya have to take responsibility! _I told myself. _Besides, Luffy and Zoro are counting on me, I can't chicken out now! _Maybe it was inner-strength, or perhaps pear-pressure, but the fear coursing through my body soon began to fade. With this new source of confidence, I decided to check out my opponent who was riding atop the large feline's back.

"Ah…furry?"

Yes, riding upon this monsters back had to be a furry, there was no other way to describe him; well I could describe him as creepy. He was a gent in maybe his late-30's with a slightly muscular build. He had bug lips and thick, black eyebrows. His white hair was somehow shaped to make it appear that he had bear ears, like some sort of nightmare teddy bear.

Then there was his clothing…eugh! He wore blue pants with a yellow sash. On his chest was a white fur…vest? I couldn't tell, it looked like he had a very hairy chest that he had groomed into the shape of a vest. Weird. Though I didn't really think it was weird when the beast of a feline lumbered towards me, to the point that we were so close his shadow covered me.

"Well, it seems that your friends have abandoned you." He said with a condescending, cruel smirk. I did not like his voice, it reminded me of a pervert…or a pedophile.

"Sorry, it's just that my friends are dumb enough to believe that I can handle this on my own." I told him with a sigh. Oddly enough I was rather calm, which was odd considering I was facing this two-ton beast with fangs and claws. "So let's get this over with." I told him.

"You're unusually calm, considering you're about to die." He grinned smugly. "You must be rather arrogant to think you can take me, Mohji the beast tamer, even knowing of my terrifying powers?" Yeah? Well Caesar Millan can do the same thing Mohji; your powers aren't that special.

"Yeah, the power to control animals." I said with a shrug. "That doesn't sound very interesting." Let's see if I can't piss him off, he was annoying me. "If we're talking about something interesting, why don't we talk about your weird hair?" Why was I trying to piss off the guy with the giant lion?

"Grrrrrrrr, that was rude!" He growled out before pointing at his hair. "This is manly hair!" He told me.

"I find that to be even weirder." I said with a deadpan expression because yes, that was weird. That sounded something a thirteen-year old boy would say after getting his first chest hair.

He looked like he wanted to say more in anger, but his mouth split back into an arrogant grin, as if he had control of the situation; I think he did actually, considering he was riding a giant lion and all.

"You nameless thief, I have no interest in you! So are you going to tell me where Roronoa Zoro is before I change my mind?" He questioned threateningly while trying to make an intimidating face, and failing. Ok…I could not take this guy seriously, he was just too funny!

"Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe go fuck yourself." I told him while readying my Fullbring as the shield it was.

"Oh really." He said with a pleased grin. "Well that's to bad." He wanted me to do that didn't he? "RICHIE! ATTACK!" Yep! He did!

I reacted as fast as I could when Richie the lion pounced at me. I hopped to the side and let the monster cat hit the ground I just stood on. And I was glad that I did, because when its front paws hit the ground, the ground cracked!

"You have good reflexes kid." Mohji said as Richie turned his head to me, fangs bared. "So at least make this little cat chase entertaining." As spoke, I could see Richie advancing forward, so I began to take action by thinking up a strategy.

_'Ok, I obviously can't fight him head on, so I'm going to have to try and fight him at a distance.'_That was for sure, with the full control of my powers, my Fullbring was practically only for close-range combat, something that I did not need in a fight like this. _'__So time to create some distance between these bozos and me.'_At that thought, I decided to sprint down the opposite direction away from the pet shop.

"Do you really think you can run from me? Richie, after him!" Mohji commanded, and just like that, the lion soon began its charge at me. Thankfully, I felt my body quickly being subjugated to adrenaline at the sight of the terrifying beast.

I did a tight turn to at the right corner. It was a smart decision, because a white paw crashed through the house while attempting to disembowel me from behind. Richie the lion and Mohji soon emerged and thus are chase continued.

_Ok, I need a plan of attack._Though, now that I think about it, what could I do in a situation like this? I was being chased by a giant lion and a furry while wielding a defective defensive weapon; such misfortune! _Well, people say the best plan of attack is to do the unexpected. _I just don't think what I'm about to pull is something that should be done.

As quickly as my body could go, I turned around and spread my legs into a wide stance. I raised my Fullbring, using it as a shield and prepared for an oncoming strike from the large feline. Richie raised its claw and swiped it at me the moment it caught up. I was sure that I would be nothing more than a torn up stain on the ground if those claws hadn't made contact with my shield.

Sadly I wasn't prepared for the force behind it. I was sent skidding backward, and thanks to some unknown godsend, I was able to maintain my stance, though the force behind the attack was too much; my arms ached from just from blocking that single attack!

"What the hell was I thinking!?" I cursed through gritted teeth. With another roar, Richie swiped at my defence, trying to break it, but my Fullbring was stronger than anything this overgrown kitten had. Sadly I'm not as durable as it. Because with one massive swipe, I was sent flying back and onto the grown, while my combat-pass was wrenched from my hands by the impact.

_Crap. _I thought through distorted vision; I must've landed on my head or something. _This isn't good, I've lost the combat-pass, and without the combat-pass I'm like a newborn. _I was slowly getting up into a sitting position just as an arrogant laugh knocked me out of my stupor.

"My, my, my. That sure didn't last long." I heard Mohji call out. "And I thought a thief like you would've been more of a challenge because you were associated with Zoro." Yeah? Well I'm not some super freak! "But I guess I was wrong." He said with a villainous grin.

-GRRROOOOOOWWWWWWLLL-

A sudden growl emanated from Richie. Odd? It didn't look like it was growling, so why was there a loud roar coming from the beast? Again, a growl came from it, this one louder than before; Richie's red eyes were locked on me, and I did not like the way it was eyeing me like a piece of me-…_SHIT!_

"Oh, are you hungry Richie?" Mohji asked, earning another growl from its large stomach. He looked at me lazily before saying. "Make it quick; I want to find and defeat Zoro so I can strengthen my reputation." That was all it needed, as the white feline came at me with an open jaw, ready to make me into its personal snack.

With a quick burst of strength, I rolled to my right making Richie chomp down on empty air. It looked at me but I wasn't paying attention to it, I was looking for my only lifeline right now!

"There!" I said spotting the plaque of would further behind me. I quickly got to my feet and dashed for it just as Richie came down upon me again. In my mad dash, I leaned down to pick it up, but even though I had grasped it, the way I was angled had caused me to fall over for a second time. "Crap!" I cried out as I noticed the large shadow overlapping mine, and it was getting bigger as Richie got closer.

In the hopes of minimizing the chances of becoming... well…dead, I crawled forward on both hands and feet before hopping forward onto the ground, sorta' like a frog. Sadly, luck can only last for so long.

"Aaaaaaarrrrgggghhh!"

I cried out as pain filled my back. Over the pain I could feel a wet liquid, running down my back; it was probably blood. I let out a small whine of pain as a few tears dripped from my eyes. God the pain! I've broken bones and stepped on legos, but I've never felt anything like this! The excruciating feeling of something tearing through your flesh is completely different! The combat-pass had fell from my grip and rolled a foot away from my grasping hand.

I glared upward at Mohji as grinned down at me. This bastard was so lucky he had Richie, I would beat his ass like a runaway slave in the 1800's!

"Come on Richie, finish it up, let's go." I gulped and quickly began reaching outward with my right hand while using my left hand as leverage to push myself further. I was so close, I was so close to living!

Just a few inches…

A shadow in the shape of a paw covered my body…

My hand rand across the pass' smooth surface, and my fingers tightened around it's edges…

Richie's paw came down; I could here Mohji laughing…

"I AM NOT GOING TO DIE HERE!" I exclaimed loudly while turning on my back while activating my Fullbring.

Richie's large paw smashed into the centre of my Fullbring. The force of it caused the ground around me to crack as the lion's massive weight was put pressed upon me. It also didn't help that the position I was in now put pressure on my newly acquired wound causing me to hiss in pain. My Fullbring cackled and let out black flames as it tried to withstand the incredible force weighing down upon it.

Thankfully, my leg was free, so I was going to put that to good use. Chambering my knee, I kicked at Richie's unprotected nose. The pressure that was weighed down on me was quickly lifted as Richie got back up on its hind legs and manoeuvred his paws to its nose.

"W-wait RichIEEEAAAAAGGGHH!" Mohji tried to say as he gripped onto the fur on Richie's back for dear life. "CAAAAlm dOWn RICHIE!" He managed to say before he was flung off and Richie flipped over onto his back.

I used my free hand to pick myself up as I got to both feet. Instead of doing something reasonable like running or hitting them while they were down, I just stared. A kick to the nose did that!? Wow, these guys are weak! No wonder they got defeated so quickly in the anime!

_But if they're this weak, then what does that say about me?__ I_ asked myself rhetorically as a cloud of depression accumulated over my head. I quickly shook myself out of that. _NO, I can't afford to lose concentration now, especially with this gash on my back. _I looked at my back from behind my shoulders and winced. It looked pretty bad from my perspective. There were three fairly large gashes running across my lower back. Richie's claws had cut through my jacket, shirt, and torn right into my back. It was dripping a constant amounts of blood, which worried me. _I have to finish this soon before I lose too much blood. _I told myself while readying my Fullbring.

"THAT'S ENOUGH RICHIE! QUIT MESSING AROUND!" Mohji Roared angrily. causing the lion, who was currently rolling on the floor, to stop. "Good, now that that's done…" He must've spotted me staring at them because he instantly began to yell at me. "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!?" He yelled in complete rage.

"Uuuuugggghhh…just watching you idiots act like a bunch of, well idiots." I commented with a awkward tone. That only seemed to enrage Richie and Mohji to an even larger degree. Because Richie got back on his feet and Mohji reclaimed his spot upon his back.

"Idiots you say." He said before putting on an evil grin. "If you haven't noticed that you're the one bleeding." Now that he mentions it, I do feel a bit woozy. Damn blood loss must be kicking in.

"If you haven't noticed…" I started out in a 'matter-of-fact' way. "…I sent you and your kitty companion to the ground with just one kick." I countered back. Seeing his face contort in rage, I smiled. "That must really hurt your pride, being hurt by an enemy that's so much weaker than you." I spoke with a grin making his face go completely red.

"That was merely a fluke." He growled out as Richie pawed the ground in a charging motion. "And I will prove that right now, when Richie turns you into his personal chew toy." Richie 'grinned'…well tried to. All he did was pull back his lips, showing off his very large, pointy, sharp teeth. Not that it wasn't effective; it was _very_ effective at scaring me.

"You think it was a fluke? Well, don't worry, I'll prove it wasn't a fluke when I'm standing over your dead body." I said in an emotionless, disturbed voice. My hopes were to at least scare him, but that didn't work in the slightest. Oh well, I guess it's time to get to work.

_His advantage, my injury, and Richie. _I catalogued while analysing the situation. _My advantages, my Fullbring, and his rage. _I could most likely use that to my advantage and cause him to lose his temper. _All in all, the more I look at it, the more I can easily tell that I have practically no chance of winning this battle. _I thought grimly. _I only have defensive powers and absolutely no offensive capabilities. _So in summary, I was screwed. Immensely screwed.

_That means there is only one way I can do this._ I deactivated my Fullbring, so that it would make easier for me to move before I stared up at him with a glare.

Everything was silent as we stared at each other, both of us waiting for the other to make a move. For several seconds I glared up at Mohji. As the tension between us increased to the point where I intensified my glare, in one swift motion, I spun around and began running away as fast as I could.

"H-hey!" I heard Mohji call from behind me, but I didn't stop. "Richie, go after him!" Just hearing the lion roar in what I could only guess was agreement made me go even faster than before. "Get back here you coward!" He yelled atop Richie.

_Great, I'm turning into Usopp. _I thought with a face-full of displeasure. _Next thing I'll know, I'll grow a big Pinocchio nose. _If that ever happens, then I'll jump off a building while singing 'I believe I can fly' and slit my wrists mid-fall. _But I really need to get to work now. _I decided, trying to burn away all pictures of me with an Usopp nose that flashed through my imagination.

My idea was simple really, though I wasn't really for it. I wasn't the type of person to do things on a whim, even though that's what I've been doing since I've got here. Usually, I would plan out something before doing it, that way I was sure nothing could go wrong. Sadly, I've had no luck with that so far; everything I've been doing has been planned off the top of my head; I hate doing that. And what was even worse was that I was doing it now.

The idea was this, learn how to master my Fullbring right now before I get killed.

_'I wish I had more time to work on this.'_I'm sure if this was really the anime, there would be anime tears streaming down my eyes right now. _'__But sadly, I don't have that luxury at the moment.'_The sound of the stampeding lion behind me alerted me to the fact that yes, there was no time to stop and figure this thing out. _'__So I have to figure this thing out now; lucky me!?'_

Skidding to a stop, I turned right and Richie and Mohji soon followed my action as his claws dug into the ground, stopping his massive body. With a 'GO!' from Mohji, Richie continued charged after me.

_Wait a minute, didn't Ganju say something about controlling spirit energy? _Yeah, it was in episode 24 or something like that, back when Ichigo was having problems! Could it really be as simple as I think it is? _How did it go again, it was something about creating a circle in your mind? _I squinted while I tried to remember the key to me winning this fight.

"_Visualize this. Draw a circle inside your mind; as dark as possible, and as heavy as possible. Then, Imagine yourself jumping right into the circle! This is a basic imaging technique that allows you to get in touch with your spirit energy. I could cry it's so easy, and I didn't have to practice it."_

Was it that easy, could I really learn how to control my power just like that? It sounded so simple; so easy. Ganju was able to do it, and so was Ichigo. Sadly I wasn't Ganju or Ichigo; I didn't know if I could do this. But it was like I had a choice in the matter.

Holding the combat-pass in front of me, I quickly activated my Fullbring. And as it roared to life, I began trying to form an image in my mind. I had to concentrate.

"Get back here you bastard!" Mohji yelled.

_I have to concentrate…visualize it._

Draw a circle….draw a circle.

"Do you really think you can make it away from me!"

As dark and heavy as possible.

"After I catch you, I'm gonna' turn you into a personal chew-toy for Richie!"

Then imagine jumping straight into the circle.

"After that, I'm going to go after your little friends!"

Jump into a circle!

"And then, and then after that there will be nothing left; just a blood stain on the ground! Hahahahah! What do you think of that!?"

JUMP INTO THE CIRCLE!

It happened so suddenly that I was almost not prepared for it. A rush of power coursed through my body, and the combat pass. My weapon burst forth with black flames before a smaller circle of spirit pressure soon formed on my Fullbring once again.

"This feeling…" I muttered under my breath. "It's just like yesterday." I stopped in my tracks, aware of the large beast coming towards me. "Then that means all I have to do now is.." My sentence wasn't finished, instead I turned around with my right arm extended. With all my might, I swung my arm, causing a disk of spirit energy to fling off and head towards my enemy.

Between the two of them, Richie had to be the least prepared. It only had a moment to widen its eyes before it was hit head first by the spiritual projectile. While was thrown off of the lion, Richie was not so lucky. It was thrown back in such a way like Morgan. Its body was tossed into a building causing it to crumble in on itself.

While Mohji was on the floor in a daze, and most likely not a threat, I decided to end this battle. I walked up to him, and even in his stunned state, he was able to clearly see me coming, and he seemed rather scared. I would be too in his situation; I just defeated his giant lion with a single attack.

Once I was in front of him, only then did he finally realize the situation he was in. Mohji tried to get back up but fell back onto his rear. His legs were shaking and I could notice a fine sheen of sweat on his body. He must've been scared.

"What did I say earlier?" I said in a dark, questioning tone before I put on an evil grin. "Ah yes, I said 'I'll prove it wasn't a fluke when I'm standing over your dead body.', I believe it was." From my position I could here him whimper and his current shaking spread all across his body.

"So, don't you think it's time I do that?" I asked rhetorically while raising up my Fullbring.

* * *

**Hey there everyone, how's it going. Yeah, nice chapter isn't it, sorry it took so long though, I have school now, so that means chapters might not come in as fast as the did before. But I will try and bring them in as fast as possible.**

**Anyways, this chapter was the turning point of Patrick's powers. From this point on, he is going to get much stronger, but it won't be like a mary sue, I plan on spreading out his power increase at a natural pace.**

**Anyways, please comment, favorite, and review. I love it when you review; it gives me a warm feeling on the inside! Anyways good bye! Nigris out!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey there everyone, long time no see! Anyways, welcome to the 9****th**** installment of 'Faker'! Isn't exciting; it's been some uncountable amount of time sense the creation of this story and it's still going because I can just barely think of different ways to make this story keep going!**

**I apologize for not updating sooner. I was expecting this to not take to long but it seems one thing led to another and next thing I know I'm making an insert Fanfic for fate/stay night. Also, I will be making a few updates and changes throughout the earlier chapters. So if you see anything different, don't freak out.**

**So, who wants this arc to end here, I sure do. Arcs like this are small, and tend not to last long, so therefore it will end in this chapter. If not here, then the next chapter will signify the end. Promise!**

**Besides this news, I have decided to start a new insert, which you will find out more about at the end.**

**Ok, let's start this thing and stuff.**

**Chapter 9: The end of the circus**

* * *

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

I blinked once.

"I-I-I-I HAD NO IDEA I WAS DEALING WITH A DEVIL FRUIT USER! SO PLEASE SPARE ME-H-H-H-HEEEE!"

Had I…had I really been running from this sad, pathetic excuse for a human? What the hell was wrong with me? How could I be afraid of him? Well in my defense, he did have a giant lion. But still, I felt really disappointed in myself for actually running away.

_I bet if I had a piece of meat, I could've distracted Richie and taken out this bastard lickety-split. _Though there was the lack of meat, but I was sure that I could get through that problem without much trouble. _Well, at least I figured out how to control my fullbring to a better degree, so that's good. _So I guess it was a win-win; I one-upped Mohji and I mastered the first level of my fullbring. _On top of that, I was able to keep this bastard from destroying the pet shop, so that's good to! _I wish I could pat myself on the back right about now.

After our little chase and me finally beating up his lion friend, it seemed that Mohji lost all will to fight back. He was reduced to a sobbing, sniffing mess bowing before me. I suppose that Richie was Mohji's trump card and without him he's practically weaker than me, which is a lot considering what universe I'm in.

As I stared down at the begging form of Mohji, I considered whether or not to finish him off. I still had my fullbring activated, so I could pretty much finish him with one strike. Actually, I probably didn't need to do that though. Just one punch could knock him out probably, like those marines yesterday. Well if one piece physics aloud me to.

_But what do I do now?_ I thought while stroking my chin with my free hand (God, I need to grow a beard. Maybe one that looks like Gandalf's). _I could just let him go, but he will probably just report back to all the other surviving buggy pirates. _Yeash, tough choice. _But if I don't if I don't then it'll make it harder to figure out what'll happen since things will deviate from canon. _And if that happened, then it'll make my life harder trying to figure out how the enemies will attack.

With that thought finished, it wasn't that hard to pick my poison.

"Get outa' here." I told him in a harsh tone as I began to walk away from him while deactivating my fullbring and shoving the combat-pass into my pocket. Before I left, I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him; a nasty glare was playing on my face. Thanks to Mohji's already crumbled form, it multiplied the fear inside him ten fold. "If I ever see you again, I'll take my hand, reach up your ass, and turn you into a sock-puppet."

That unorthodox threat was all it took to send him crawling in the other direction, he didn't even stop for his pet; it was probably dead anyway. I sighed as I stared at his retreating form. Hopefully, he would take him some time to tell Buggy; I really wanted to check the wound on my back out as fast as possible.

My bloody cuts decided to tell me they were there as a flash of pain shot through my back. I couldn't help but suppress a wince. It's not like I was going to complain over it, I was just happy that I wasn't split in two on the first hit.

_Now that I think about it, it doesn't even hurt as much than it did earlier. _Well, it still hurt like hell, but it had at least dulled down a little. _Though I'm sure that if this were the real world I'd be laying on the ground dead from blood loss. _It was so hard getting used to these new laws of physics. It just didn't sit well with me was all.

As I began to walk back to…hold on wait, just where was I exactly? Crap! I had been running around so much that I didn't even bother to figure out where I was heading! In my defense, I was fighting a lion and a furry (not that the last one was a threat) so I didn't exactly have time to watch my surroundings.

_Still, this is a problem. _A big problem actually, when Mohji gets back to Buggy and tells him that he was defeated, then he'll send even more people, like that unicycle Cabbage guy. Actually, weren't Luffy, Zoro, and Nami supposed to confront them? No wait it was…eh…ugh.

_What the heck is going on? _I thought while gripping my head. _Ever since I got here, my memory isn't what it used to be. _I considered my memory to be my greatest power. I could easily remember the simplest of things like what I had for dinner three days ago, to more complicated like remembering a single sentence someone spoke two weeks before.

Sure my memory wasn't perfect; I didn't have a photogenic memory. But I shouldn't be having problems like that!

_Did my fall from yesterday hurt me that much? _Sure I felt good about saving that girl, but if I'd known Luffy was going to do it, I would have let the more capable rubber-man take care of it. _But that doesn't seem right though. Could it be something else effecting it? But what could it be? _I thought for a moment while trying to comprehend what could have sent my brain into disarray. After some forethought, it wasn't too hard to figure out. I was a smart person after all.

_It probably has to do with those terrible headaches yesterday. _I concluded with a nod. _There's nothing else I can think of that could be the cause of it. _On top of that, there's the fact that before yesterday, I've never even had anything like that before in my life. The closest thing that I could think it was similar to would be having a seizure. And since I don't have history of those, I think I may have found the problem.

"But what could've caused it?" I mumbled under my breath. I wanted to think about it, but I felt the pain from yesterday slowly creeping back into my head. "Damnit." I cursed while cancelling all thoughts upon it, and the throbbing soon began to drift off. "I don't understand what the hell's going on." And I didn't like that. Whatever happened to bring me here was obviously not natural.

_Do I have amnesia? _I was no Neuropharmacologist, but I was sure I had some form of amnesia seeing as parts of my memory were torn to shreds. _Great. _I sighed inwardly. _On top of being stranded in an alternate universe, I have amnesia also. Fan-fucking-static! _I stayed there for a moment pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to think just what was I supposed to do with this newly acquired information.

"Ah Screw it." I said while continuing to walk forward. "Just because I now know what could be the cause of those headaches doesn't mean I have to figure out what the cause is yet." I told myself with a nod. "Besides, I have more important things to worry about." Like finding the rest of the crew before Buggy finds them. I knew they were going to win (It was Buggy, we were fine) but I suppose I should at least make an effort to help.

"I shouldn't be too far away." I told myself in hopes of bringing my spirits up.

Because really, I couldn't have gotten myself that lost, right?

* * *

_I should NOT have tempted fate._ I thought to myself grimly. _I forgot the major rule about tempting fate._

Rule one about fate: When you tempt fate you are sure to get fucked right up the ass.

Figuratively. Not literally.

And my ass had been fucked…figuratively. I was now wondering through the town aimlessly, in hopes of finding anyone else. Sadly, it seamed luck was not on my side today, forcing me to continue my search. Hopefully, Luffy or Zoro would cause some large commotion soon so I could locate them.

Besides that, my newly acquired wound had actually began to stop bleeding and was now scabbing over. This was a big surprise for me, because usually wounds like that would have sent the strongest of men to the hospital. Once I was able to get a closer look at it, I soon deduced it wasn't as bad as I thought it was originally. It was more like a small cut that hurt like hell but wasn't even worth mentioning. So that was good.

_Speaking of wounds, if this is what I'm going to have to go through every arc, I am not going to be a happy camper. _I was no masochist; I would rather stop a fight than start one. _I'd better learn how to use bringer light fast. _I told myself. _Maybe I could learn how to manipulate the soul of my clothes to make them more durable, like armor. _Actually, that wasn't a half-bad idea! I wonder what else I could do to keep my ass off the chopping-block?

Sadly, planning would have to wait. Luffy decided that it was time to do his daily stupid routine again.

"BIG NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE!"

I turned to the left where I heard Luffy's scream come from (Which was most likely directed at Buggy) and sighed. Who else but Luffy could of screamed that out loud? I stared at the spot for a moment, deciding whether or not I should actually go that way; if I went there, I knew that I would not have fun.

-BOOM-

I was surprised once again today by a second explosion echoing throughout the town. Not too far off from where I was currently located, my eyes locked onto a rising smoke cloud. I sighed already having a guess as to what took place.

_From what I can guess, Luffy's comment caused Buggy to lose his temper. _I deduced with a frown. I would've thought that Luffy wouldn't be that stupid, but the reality was that yes, Luffy is that stupid. _I guess I shouldn't get my hopes up for him making any logical decisions in the future._

With another sigh (Sure have been sighing a lot lately), I began to make my way towards the rising smoke cloud at a leisurely pace; know need to rush, they'd be fine. What Luffy and Zoro didn't have in the brains department, they sure as hell made it up with their brawn. Besides, it was already dictated in the anime, so I wasn't even particularly worried about anything.

_Though I wonder if my fight with Mohji will have any after affects. _I really doubted it though. It isn't about what equation you use, it's about if you get the answer you were looking for. Meaning, that it didn't matter if I fought Mohji. As long as he got back to Buggy and told him, all would be fine. _So I should really stop worrying, it's not healthy to worry._

As I neared the location the explosion had taken place, I realized that the houses began to part, revealing the building where our little misadventure had begun, the Drinker's Pub, well what was left of it. The building had been completely obliterated (From either the blast from earlier or from just before, I had no clue). The only reason I recognized this place was because there was a long line of demolished houses.

I didn't see Nami anywhere (Bitch probably ran off looking for Buggy's gold), but I did see, Luffy. He was standing to the side of Zoro who was clashing blades against…a guy on a unicycle? Oh wait, that's the Cabbage guy! He was an acrobat, or something like that. I noticed to my left, that Mohji was here to, except he unconscious. And from the indent on the wall of the house his knocked out form was by, I could only guess he was thrown into it.

Buggy was there too. He was standing in front of the demolished building in all his clownish glory. He had a large grin on his face, probably thinking about how Cabbage guy was going to wipe the floor with Zoro. Too bad Buggy, Zoro is way to broken for that to happen!

I also caught a glimpse of the old mayor. He was lying on the ground unconscious. But whatever.

"Hey Luffy." I called while walking up to him. "What did I miss?" All attention was on me for a moment before Luffy waved back with that shit eating grin of his.

"Hey Patrick!" He said. "Where've you been? We all got board and decided to go find you, but then we ran into these guys, and we sorta' got into a fight!" He said in that stupidly cheerful manner of his. "So where were you?" He asked for the second time.

"Well." I licked my lips to get ready for the big explanation I was about to give. "After I defeated Mohji, I let him go. But I got lost, so I've been walking around town looking for you guys." I said while scratching the back of my head. "Oh yeah, thanks for causing that explosion, or I probably would've never found you guys." I added on.

"Oh sure!" He said. Did he even know what I was talking about? Oh who cared. I said my thanks; it's not my problem that he doesn't understand.

"I'm glad you idiots are having a nice time over there." Zoro muffled voice said while knocking away his opponents blade and swiped at him only for Cabbage guy to peddle backwards to get out of his reach. Cabbage guy then came ramming at Zoro with his saber, but his steel met Zoro's crossed blades. "But could ya' keep it down so I can concentrate!" He managed to yell while keeping his teeth clenched against the blade in his mouth.

"Oh sorry." Luffy said nonchalantly which merely made me sigh, again. Luffy was way too carefree, and frankly that little quirk of his pissed me off a little.

"You should pay attention to your opponent Roronoa. It might cost your life if you don't!" Cabbage guy then did something that I did not expect. He pulled down the long scarf around his neck and took a deep breath.

"ARSONIST TECHNIQUE!"

I watched in surprise as Cabbage guy spewed out flames from his mouth and onto Zoro. I was frozen with shock, even as the flames bathed the swordsman making him cry out in agony. I heard Luffy call him, but I still kept my attention on Zoro.

Then, he freed a leg from the pedals of his unicycle and kicked him square in the chest. The strike made Zoro gag from having all the air knocked out of his lungs and he staggered back. Though I'm pretty sure that he should've fallen over either dead, unconscious, or covered in fire screaming for help. But no, he didn't even look a little worse-for-wear. Well, besides a few burn marks.

"That was a dirty trick." Dirty? Yes. Affective? Yes. "But I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from cowards like you." Zoro countered trying to get a rise out of his opponent. But Cabbage guy just grinned and readied his sword again.

"Cowardly? Hehehehehe. We'll see who's the cowardly one when you're lying on the ground dead." That makes no sense. To be cowardly is to let fear and excessive self-concern override doing or saying what is right, good, and of help to others or oneself in a time of need. In basic terms: to be Usopp.

"Let's finish this Roronoa." Cabbage guy said while stabbing the tip of his blade into the ground. "Acrobat technique: Murder at the steambath." He then began to spin the still embedded blade. This caused dust to come out, and as the blade turned faster, it caused a small dust cloud to envelope him.

"Acrobat my ass. That's just a normal dust cloud." He didn't get much time to say anything else as a blade came swinging down at him, which he quickly blocked with his blades, only for a leg to come swinging upward and hit him in the face. The force behind it was enough to send him flying backwards and onto his back with a moan.

"What's this; it's such a disgraceful sight to see a groan man on the ground moaning." Cabbage guy said as the dust cloud soon began to disappear. He was rocking back-and-forth on his unicycle to keep himself balanced. "You should've realized you couldn't defeat me from the moment the battle started. And now you're going to pay with your life." He stated with a sinister grin.

"This guy plays dirty." I mumbled under my lips. I didn't mind playing dirty; if I can give a guy a crotch-shot to a guy, I would. But the way Cabbage guy did it was much crueler and wicked. To my side, I could see Luffy staring at the fight with a blank expression. "Should we do something?" I asked him.

"No, I believe in Zoro." Luffy said with confidence. "He can take that unicycle guy down, no problem!" I know that; Zoro could kick his ass without any problem. I just didn't like sitting here watching while Zoro was fighting. I especially didn't like it because I could kick his ass with my newly controlled fullbring in a second.

"Whatever you say." I mumbled beneath my breath. Zoro was slowly getting back up to his feet with a groan, and something right now told me that this fight was about to be finished. "But he better finish this soon, I'm getting pretty fucking sick of this Cabbage bastard." I muttered.

"Are you done with all your stupid tricks?" Zoro questioned standing back upon both feet. "I'm getting sick and tired of all your stupid stunts." He readjusted the swords in his hands while glaring at his opponent. " And you call yourself a swordsman." I can here a small bit of disgust in his voice.

"You can say whatever you like Roronoa, but at the end of this battle, you'll be the dead one." Zoro didn't pay much attention to that last sentence. "And then I shall be the one known as the greatest swordsman in the east blue!" Oh Cabbage guy, you do not know what deep shit you just through yourself into.

"Me, loose to you." Zoro said while taking his sword from his mouth, probably to speak clearer. "My swords aim to be the world's greatest; I won't lose to anyone who calls himself a swordsman!" He yelled proudly.

"A strong resolve keeps you going." Cabbage commented. "But have no fear, wounds as bad as yours will be more than enough of an excuse." He told him while pointing the tip of his blade at Zoro. "For losing to me."

"To hell with that! If I lose to someone as cowardly as you, then I don't have a very bright future ahead of me do I?" With that last comment, he inserted his third sword back into his mouth, ready for battle. "Besides, I'm done with this." He said to Cabbage guy.

Cabbage guy laughed. "Oh? Do you finally see how futile it is to fight against me?" He questioned arrogantly. "Do you see how foolish it was to make an enemy of the buggy pirates?" Cabbage guy asked rhetorically.

"I think you misunderstood." Zoro told him while leveling a glare in his direction. "I'm sick and tired, of your stupid sideshow." I could see veins popping out along Cabbage guy's forehead.

"I see; how rude of me." Cabbage guy tried to put up a grin, but it was obvious that it was fake, judging by the pulsating veins on his forehead. "Then allow me to show you, my true swordsman skills!" He yelled while riding towards Zoro in an attempt to skewer him. "Die Zoro!"

Zoro stood his ground, not moving an inch. He spread his legs and crouched a little. He crossed both his swords across his chest. And then, in a single, swift motion, charged Cabbage guy while swinging his swords across his chest. The infects were instantaneous.

Cabbage guy spurted blood from three crossing slashes going across his chest. He fell off his unicycle and onto the ground where a pool of blood formed under his body. "I can't believe…that the buggy pirates…lost to a bunch of…petty…thieves." I heard him say in a low, raspy voice before going unconscious.

"CABAJI!" Buggy yelled out in horror. Wait, his name was Cabaji? Well I was close. I actually like Cabbage guy better.

"We aren't petty thieves." Zoro said while sheathing all his swords. "We're pirates." After he finished his sentence he fell onto his ass breathing hard. Did he really get that beat up? In canon, he only fell over unconscious because of the stab wound Buggy gave him, but I've already gotten rid of that factor so he should be fine.

"Luffy, I'm going to sleep." Zoro said before falling onto his back. Not a second after, I heard soft snores coming from him. "I'll leave the rest to you." Really? Shouldn't he move out of the way; it isn't smart to sleep in the middle of a battle.

"Right!" Luffy said with a fist pump. He then walked away from my side and positioned himself right across from him.

"Ugh…Luffy, what should I do?" I asked confused. I've been standing here for the past ten minutes doing nothing. And it's not like I wanted to fight again, but I really didn't want to do nothing. I'd feel guilty.

Luffy turned back to me. And I could see that small hamster in his head quickly running on its wheel. "I don't know. Just don't get in the way of my fight." Well that was blunt. But I suppose that's just the type of person Luffy is. Brave, blunt, and stupid.

"Fine, I'm gonna go find our new navigator." I said in a sarcastic tone. I had nothing better to do, so might as well find her. "Don't loose to big nose." I said while giving him a quick wave.

"Don't think you'll be able to get away with your life after making that comment!" I heard Buggy yell angrily followed by the sound of flesh smacking against flesh.

I turned around and quickly backed up a few steps from the pointing daggers held between the fingers of Buggy's dismembered, floating hand. If it were any closer than…I didn't even want to think about that.

Thankfully, my rubber captain had caught it. Luffy stretched out his arm and grappled. He retracted his arm and stared down Buggy even as his hand squirmed in his grip. After a moment, Luffy let go of Buggy's hand, letting it return.

"Patrick has nothing to do with this." Luffy said while glaring at Buggy who was rubbing his newly regained hand in pain. "Your fight is with me, not him." All Buggy did was let a growl escape his bared teeth while glaring menacingly at him. "Patrick, get going already, I don't want you getting caught up in our fight."

I didn't even bother to say anything, still a little in shock from being almost killed. But I gave a quick salute before rushing off. Should I have taken Zoro with me? Nah, Zoro wouldn't die, he was way to cool for that anyways. I mean really, he survived after Luffy through him like, 50-feet into the air in the 'Arlong Park Arc', so I'm sure he'd be fine.

_Now where is our traitorous navigator? _Now that I brought that topic up, what should I do about Nami betraying us? I couldn't go outright and just say it to her, I wouldn't know what she would do. _Maybe I can sneak on board the Going Merry when she steals it. _That sounded like a good idea. It would make for an easy entrance into Arlong Park. No bad guy to fight, no running around, just find a good hiding spot on the Going Merry and it's an easy ticket in!

I could hear Luffy and Buggy duke it out behind me, and I took that as my cue to leave. I did not want to get caught up in their fight. I was sure I could take Buggy down now with my fullbring, but I did not want to get in Luffy's way when he was throwing punches. I've seen enough of the anime to know what happens.

"Now, if I were an orange-haired bitch who would sell out anyone to get money, where would I go?" I questioned to myself. This might've been a lot harder than I thought. "Let's see. Luffy fights Buggy, Buggy tears Luffy's hat, which causes him to go berserk. Then Buggy tells Luffy how he knows shanks and that he will forever curse his name (I think that was happening right now, judging by the sound of Buggy yelling something at Luffy)." But where does Nami come into the picture?

"GET BACK HERE YOU THEIF!"

Oh. Well that answers the question.

I turned around to see that Buggy and his upper body had disengaged from battle with Luffy, leaving everything below the waist behind. Buggy was flying towards something orange on the other side of the pub's wreckage. Something that was carrying a bundle of, what I could guess to be, treasure. Oh wait, that was Nami. Well I found her! Now I just need to keep her from being killed by Buggy.

My eyes quickly flicked over to Buggy's legs and I grinned. I pulled out my combat-pass and let my fullbring thrum to life. If a single whack from my fullbring could hurt him like it did earlier, then I wonder, what would my newly mastered fullbring do? I quickly charged up my fullbring and swung my arm out, sending out a black disk of destructive power.

I was worried that it wouldn't hit my intended target. But like some heat-seeking missile, it corrected its trajectory and aimed itself at Buggy's legs. When they both made contact, they were both sent flying into the remains. Buggy, still in mid-flight, paused before spasming to the ground with a sob of agony.

While Nami and Luffy I was celebrating on the inside. _So I have better control of this thing after all! _In reality, I only thought that it was a fluke that I was able to do it in my fight with Mohji like when I through a disk at Morgan yesterday. _With this, I've changed things drastically._ That was right. Now I no longer have to attack from close range, I can now fight from long range too!

"Hey Luffy!" I called out while jogging up to his side. Pointing at Nami across the way I said. "Found her." Well, I could have said something better than that. Oh well. "So uh, what now?"

"Hey Nami, you should drop that treasure." And, I'm ignored. Lovely. "If you don't he'll just come after you again." I wonder if he even knows I'm here? He has shown the ability to ignore things when they are obviously right in front of his head. Seeing as I didn't see any immediate danger, I deactivated my fullbring and pocketed it.

"Drop the money and go? No way! Why should leave my treasure behind!?" I'm not going to enjoy her on the ship, I know that much. "That's that dumbest thing I've ever heard!" She almost sounded angry. Jesus woman, he was just giving a suggestion. No need to chew him out!

"Did…you just call it your treasure?" I was just able to here the pained voice of Buggy question.

"That's right! My treasure!" She said loud and proud. "I'm a thief that steals from pirates! And I just stole from a really annoying one! So that makes this treasure my treasure now, understand!?"

_I understand that I want to hit you. I also understand that you are a heartless bitch when it comes to money._ I thought with a twitching eyebrow. _I actually feel a little bad for Buggy right now. _Well not really. He has tried to kill us already. But still, it was there.

"Ahhh that makes sense!" Luffy said while putting a fist into his open palm, as if he had finally discovered the point.

"THAT'S PURE NONSENSE! JUST BECAUSE YOU STOLE THAT TREASURE DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S YOURS! I STOLE IT FAIR-AND-SQUARE SO IT'S MINE!" Buggy proclaimed with anger. "HONESTLY, WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS TEACH YOU!"

Nami just stared down at him with an annoyed frown. "A criminal try to lecture another criminal ridiculous!" Actually, that's situational irony.

"What was that!" Buggy growled out."

"Well whatever. The day I start taking morality lessons from you is the day I stop being a thief." She said while sticking her tongue.

"Well, I hope your ready for the consequences." I heard Buggy growl out as he slowly began to hover off the ground.

"Here comes CHOP CHOP…" I heard the shifting of wood before Buggy's legs popped up out of the ground.

"…FESTIVAL!" With that single phrase, his lower and upper body split up into dozens of small pieces. The parts that made up his legs quickly began to join the rest. "HAHAHAHAHAH! I'd like to see you save your friend now gum gum!" He called out to Luffy.

"Damn! He split his body up into smaller pieces!" Luffy cursed. "What do we do now?" Yes, this was not good. If he was in smaller pieces, it'll make it harder to hit him. I stared at Buggy in hopes of figuring out how (And if) I should save Nami. Then, my plea for an answer had come in the form of two disembodied feet popping out of the wreckage.

As I watched the feet hop in front of each other, as if they were mimicking walking, my plan was quickly formed. These were obviously Buggy's feet. And from my earlier confrontation, blows to his detached body parts can feel pain. So that means all I have to do is…

"Don't worry. I got this." I assured Luffy. I didn't wait for him to reply and began jogging towards the escaping body parts. Once I neared them I bent down and snatched one up. As I stared at the squirming foot in my hands, I could only grin a little. I could feel my inner sadist coming out.

Popping off the shoe (God, buggy needed to clean his feet), I gripped the foot firmly in my right hand. And without a single delay-

-pegged it into the ground and stomped on it.

Even though I was watching the squirming foot twitch erratically under my foot, I was able to pick up the sound of Buggy crying out in intense agony. So for a finishing move, I raised my leg high into the air and stomped on it for a second time.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He cried out before looking to me with sheer rage. "NOCK IT OFF YOU LITTLE TURD!" Wow, how rood. I believe that earns you some more pain.

I was going to stomp on his feet even harder, but it seemed Nami beat me to the punch.

"No, you knock it off!" She yelled while swinging her heavy bag of treasure around. And with a roar, slammed it into Buggy's floating head. Sadly, she got different results.

"Thanks for giving me back my treasure Nami." Buggy said with a grin as he tugged on the bag of treasure with his disembodied hands.

"NO LET GO!" Nami yelled while trying to tug back against Buggy. "Let go it's mine!"

"No, you let go it's mine you ungrateful little brat!" Buggy yelled back. It soon devolved into nothing more than a shouting match, but when I saw Buggy raise a floating hand, which had a dagger grasped in it, I knew things would get bloody. I was prepared to bash his foot with my hand, but I quickly realized that it had disappeared along with the other.

Suddenly Luffy sprinted off towards them and jumped over the pub's carcass with his freakish strength. "I told you, you haven't finished dealing with me yet!" He roared while kicking Buggy in the face.

Because of the angle and the force behind the kick, Buggy smashed face first into the bag of treasure before smashing into the ground with enough force to leave a trail as he skid across it. I stared at Buggy as he laid atop the bag of treasure, clearly unconcious. It had been torn open in the impact and had exposed its golden treasures on the inside. Gold coins, jewels, hell there was a diamond-studded dagger! Holy crap, real treasure!

_Holy crap, that has to be worth thousands! _I thought with wide eyes. _No with America's economy today, that has to be worth millions! _Note-to-self: If by some miracle I do get back to my world, bring back as much treasure as possible so I'm set for life.

"Consider that finishing move a little gift from the old mayor guy!" Luffy said. Wait, wasn't Luffy the one who knocked him out? That's what happens in the anime right? Well, that was ironic.

I ran around the pub's carcass and quickly met up with them. With a sigh I said. "Well, now that that's all done with, what are we going to do about Buggy." I said while staring at the slowly rising pirate clown.

"Oh yeah, that map/Treasure!" They both said while finishing there sentence with the different things they wanted. Was I ignored again!? This better not be some running gag!

They both looked at Where their wanted objects were and stared in surprise that of the floating head of Buggy, staring our way with anger.

"This is isn't over." He hissed out angrily.

"Uh oh! He's still alive!" Luffy said in shock. I noticed Nami step back a little before she ran off behind us. What was she doing!?

"HOW DARE YOU FLASHILY DO THIS TO ME!" He yelled in anger. Luffy soon got into a fighting stance while I reached back into my pocket for the combat-pass. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" So the fight was gonna' start again huh?

"ASSEMBLE CHOP CHOP PARTS!"

Judging by the name, I expected for all the pieces of his boy to return to him so he could go into one piece. But what really happened was that his hands came flying at him while both his feet came running along the ground. And when they reached him, I could only snort out how ridiculous it looked.

He had short arms, and short legs; with how ridiculously large his hands and feet were, it didn't help make his appearance and more serious. The rest of his body had become the rest of his head. And frankly, because how his massive his cape was compared to his tiny frame, it made me want to laugh.

Frankly. He looked like the midget brother of an oompa loompa.

The look on his face only made the situation even more hilarious. Buggy had a look of amazement on his face, something akin to thinking you would win something. He had a large, shit-eating grin on his face. He probably wasn't even aware of the situation he was in.

Everything was quiet except for the chirping of some far-off birds in the distance. But I did see a nervous sweat appear on his brow and he let out a soft 'Eh?'.

"Looking for these Buggy?"

At the sound of Nami's voice, we turned around to see Nami resting a foot on top of the rest of Buggy's body parts. They had been tied up with some rope and were struggling to get free.

"OH NO MY PARTS!" Buggy cried out in fear.

"ALRIGHT!" Luffy cheered while swinging both arms back. They stretched backward far behind him, informing me that he was going to do one of his signature techniques. "WAIT TO GO THEIF!"

"H-HOLD ON! WAIT NO!" Buggy cried out.

"See ya' Buggy!" Luffy said as his arms snapped back and were sent towards Buggy.

"Now! GUM GUM! BAZOOKA!"

His hands made contact with Buggy. He was sent flying high into the sky with a trailing scream behind him. He soon disappeared out of eyesight.

I stared at the direction Buggy was sent flying before sighing. Who'd ever think having rubber powers would be so dangerous. Sure, they've shown them in Marvel and DC, but Luffy used them in a way that I would've never thought of. I guess that's just what makes him such a ridiculously amazing character.

As Luffy cheered and Nami was busy reclaiming her treasure, my eyes caught something on the ground not to far by my feet. Something golden and shiny.

_No way. I can't be this lucky. _I try to deny it. But it was there. _There is no fucking way. _My breath hitched as walked over to it, and crouched down. Sure the wounds on my back hurt, but it was worth it.

_Gold. Fucking gold!_

Yes, laying on the ground were fifteen gold coins. There weren't any symbol on them, pretty undistinguishable, but yes! gold!

But that wasn't the real prize. That's what was laying right by them.

On the ground not to far from them was an amulet. It was a large ruby a little smaller than my palm with a smooth, cylindrical shape. Silver was melded onto it with a cross cross-shaped imprint on it. It was hanging from a thin silver chain.

_Now way. No way. _I've never owned anything valuable in my life. Never. I've never held a piece of gold or silver before. I didn't think much of it at the time; it wasn't really important to me at the time. But now that I was holding it…

_I HAVE FUCKING TEASURE! YES! YES! FUCK YEAH!  
_

I quickly snatched up the golden coins and stashed them in my free pocket. Then, I took the amulet and put it around my neck. Why? BECAUSE I HAD FUCKING TREASURE! IT DIDN'T MATTER THAT I ONLY HAD A LITTLE BIT OF IT! IT WAS TREASURE!

_I'm glad that Nami didn't see that. _I thought with an inward sigh. _If she saw that, then it would-…_

"Hey! What do you think you're doing over there!"

"Ah fuck me!"

I didn't even bother to keep that in my head as I spotted Nami storming towards me with an angry look.

When she stood right in front of me, I said the only thing that came to mind. "What?" Maybe if I'm lucky, she didn't see me-

"Don't lie! Don't think I didn't see you take some of my gold!" She said jamming a finger in my chest. Seeing as her head reached somewhere around my jawline, I looked down at her in annoyance. "So hand it over bub!" She said while holding out an open palm.

Let's see. Give back treasure that's worth a lot of money, or give this bitch the treasure. Choices. Choices.

"No way!" I yelled while slapping away her hand. "It's mine now I found it you greedy bitch." I was not handing this over.

"No way! I nearly got killed for that treasure and there is no way I'm losing a single bit of it! So hand it over now!" Oh this bitch…

"You nearly got killed? Excuse me if my memory is a little foggy, but Luffy, Zoro, and me were the ones doing all the fighting!" I roared back causing her to lose some drive. "On top of that, we were the one who saved your sorry ass when you were in trouble when we clearly didn't need to! So be lucky that we aren't asking for all that treasure in the first place!" I was not going to end up whipped by Nami like everyone else in the crew! I would sooner die!

She was about to yell again but I cut her off. "Besides, even if all that stuff didn't happen, just what would you do if I refused?" My voice was quieter than before when I asked seeing as our shouting match was over. "Between the two of us, I'm the more capable one combat wise; I'd completely crush you." Her mouth had formed into a thin line and her eyebrows lowered to make a brooding face. Time to put the final nail in this coffin.

Leaning forward, I whispered in her ear the worst threat I could think of. "If you mess with me. I'll make you wish you could die." I leaned back and saw Nami's rather nervous face and gave an inward nod of satisfaction before walking off towards Luffy.

If I was going to be apart of this crew, then there was no way I was going to let Nami boss me around! She may be able to do that to everyone else but not me! No way! She can get as pissy as she wants at me but I still won't back down from that greedy bitch!

"Hey what was that all about back there with Nami?" Luffy questioned as I neared him.

"We had a…disagreement." I said after a quick pause. "But it's over now." Hopefully.

"Oh… ok." He said as I spotted his straw hat atop his head. It was torn up and pretty much beaten. To think that thing is so important to him.

_Well we all have different values. _As they say, 'Another man's trash in another man's treasure'. So I wouldn't judge.

"Hey." Nami called and we looked back to see Nami now carrying her treasure in two bags. "I put this into two bags, so give me a hand in carry half of it." Even as I felt my frustration grow a little, I kept my face a stone mask.

"That sure is a lot." Luffy commented making Nami grin.

"Oh yeah it is!" Nami cheered. "I gotta' say, Buggy sure had good taste when it came to treasure." She said rubbing her cheeks against the treasure bags. "I bet I could sell this for at least 10,000,000 berris! She said while staring at Luffy who just stare back at Nami with a smile. It looked like guilt playing on her face a little a she diverted her eyes, but she sighed and leaned over and dropped the bags on the ground.

"Here." She said while reaching for something in her back pocket. "Take this." Nami said while pulling out a rolled up sheet of paper. Luffy let out a 'Huh?' while I simply raised an eyebrow. What was that?

"It's a chart to the grandline." She answered. "You do want it don't you?" Yes, we definitely need that.

"You're giving it to me?" Luffy said in shock.

"Because you saved my life." Nami answered. "So take it. "Luffy didn't even bother to say thanks before he snatched it up with a large grin.

"Yes! I finally have it! I map of the grandline!" He then turned to me. "Hey Patrick, we finally have a map to the grandline!" He said.

"Yes, isn't that lovely." I said tiredly. But Luffy's happiness was contagious, and I could help but put a smile on my face.

"Hey, does this mean you're also going to join my pirate crew?" He questioned.

"I told you no matter what I'd never join a pirate crew!" She said angrily. That was before a smile formed on her lips. "But sure, whatever. Sticking around with you guys seemed to be profitable." She then through an untrustworthy glare my way. "Even if I don't trust some of you." Well fuck you to Nami. "Just remember this: I'm only joining you, because it's in my interest." How Nami-like of her.

"Sure." Luffy agreed.

"Well, this is all charming and stuff." I cut in. "But why don't we get Zoro so we can get out of here." I told them while walking towards our fallen swordsman.

"Oh yeah your right. I forgot all about him!" I did not find that reassuring Luffy. My boneheaded captain ran past me while Nami fallowed. Well, not before shooting me a quick glare that is.

_Geeze I'm tired. _I was exhausted from running, my back hurt from being attacked by a lion, and now my clothes were ruined. _What a lovely day this has turned out to be. _Well, you reap what you sow. _But I feel really light-headed. _Probably blood loss or something.

By the time I had made it over to them, Zoro was upon his feet awake, letting out a big yawn. My eyes soon went to the still unconscious mayor, and I frowned.

"Hey, shouldn't we wake the mayor up?" I questioned while looking to the unconscious mayor. Did Luffy seriously have to nock him out?

"Oh yeah, I guess we should wake him up now." Luffy said. But before he even made it one step. A voice called out to us.

"You there." I turned around and did a double take. There was a whole mob of people their! When they hell did they get there!? Were they ninjas our something!? "You're not residence of this village." An average-looking man with a ponytail spoke up. "What was all that cannon fire earlier; it sounded like a battle was going on?" He questioned. "If you know anything, then please, tell us." Were these the citizens?

"Oh good, they're just citizens." Nami said in relief. "I thought they were more pirates." Well that was good. But why did I feel like I was forgetting something?

"OH NO! THE MAYOR!" A man cried out. That said off an alarm within all the people as the quickly began to run and surround him.

"Mayor, can you here me?"

"He's out cold!"

"The pirates definitely did this!"

"How horrible!"

_Oh yeah, now I remember. _I should start thinking up a lie to say. Maybe I could go with-…

"No. I knocked him out."

_God damnit Luffy._

"WHAT!" The villagers were now all looking at us with intense anger and hatred. Yeah, beating up an old guy isn't really the best way to earn their trust.

"Why did you do that?" One villager asked with a glare as he advance up on us. Shit! "You better start giving answers!" I did not like the way this was going one bit.

"Because we're pirates." DOUBLE SHIT!

"JUST AS WE THOUGHT!" The entire mob called out, surprisingly at the same time in exact unison. Strange.

"Luffy. You're an idiot." I said while Nami began to chew him out. Zoro had somehow found the situation funny and began to laugh his as off. I guess it could be considered funny if I was still in the real world watching this on my computer. But now, not so much.

"How dare you ravage our town!" A villager called out enraged. "We won't show you any mercy for what you've done!" Don't worry; I wasn't expecting any in the first place.

"What now?" Zoro questioned while cracking his neck. "It doesn't look like they're up for a discussion." True, they looked like they wanted to tear us in two.

Luffy turned to Zoro and a big grin was displayed on his face. He stayed like that for a moment before he turned on his heels and began to running in the opposite direction.

"RUUUUUUUUUUN!" He yelled as we soon began to follow after him.

"God damnit Luffy!" I yelled as we all began to leg it away from the mob chasing us down. It was stupid reasons like this that I really pissed me off about Luffy. You'd think after six hundred episodes he would've learned by now when to keep his mouth shut! But nope! That learning part of his brain appears to be broken.

"How do always make things worse!?" Nami yelled at Luffy.

"This is a good town." You cause the entire town to come after us in a mob, and now you comment on how 'good' it is? "Everyone is so angry because the old mayor got hurt." I could only frown at him while raising an eyebrow. "Something tells me that they aren't going to listen to our side of the story." Yeah, no crap Luffy.

"We're turning here." Luffy said as he turned into an alley, Zoro and me hot on his trail. Nami wasn't as prepared for the sudden change of course and was left behind. But she quickly caught up to us. As we were running down the alley we passed by something that my eyes didn't register it at first. But when I looked back, I quickly realized what it was.

_Chouchou? _

Yes. Standing in the alleyway was Chouchou, who was barking at the many civilians who at stopped at his presence. I was rather confused as to why he was here. The pet shop was never destroyed. And sense destroying I stopped Mohji from the store before, he shouldn't be here. Unless Chouchou had somehow bore witness to my fight. Maybe he wanted to owe us because I defended the store.

_No time to think, I gotta' keep my attention on running. _I thought as I noticed that Zoro and Luffy were pulling ahead. _I really have to work on my stamina. _Appeared even though I was physically active and in great shape, added to the fact that I was fit, that I still was nowhere as physically strong as these two morons. Even with the added boost of one piece physics, I was still weaker. Not that it mattered to me. I'm just glad that I had my fullbring.

"Thanks doggy!" Luffy called out to Chouchou. I would've too, but I was more focused on breathing if anything.

_But still, thanks for covering our asses when we needed it Chouchou. _I thought as we slowly made more distance between the raging mob.

* * *

It didn't take long before we had completely lost the mob and made it to the docks. If I had to make an estimate, it was around ten minutes. And when we had finished we were all sweaty and tired. Well Nami and me were. Luffy and Zoro were looking all fine and dandy. That fact did not help my self-esteem when it came to my physical capabilities.

"*Gasp* We only made it because of Chouchou." Nami commented while wiping away the sweat from her brow. "Why do we have to put up with this?" Nami complained with a sigh of annoyance.

"Does it really matter, we're done here anyways." Luffy said as he looked at a ship a little larger than our little dingy positioned next to ours. "Hey, is this your boat? It looks great!" Yeah I suppose it did. The mast and sail were a bit larger than ours. On top of that, it seemed to have an indoor area built in, door and all.

"Hold on wait, is this one of Buggy's ships?" Zoro questioned. "I see one of his jolly rogers on it." Zoro was right. Imprinted on the side of the ship was Buggy's jolly roger.

"It's nothing special, but I guess it will do." Nami said. "I stole it from some idiots of the Buggy pirates a few days back." She said with a proud look in her eyes.

"That's a big mouth you got." A voice said from the boat. That's when three figures popped out from the boat. Wait weren't these guys the shipwrecks we left behind? They must've swam all the way here. That was rather impressive.

Nami let out a surprised yelp as the three Buggy pirates grinned at us fiendishly.

"We've been waiting for you ya' little thief." The middle one said.

"You didn't think you would run into us here now did you girly?" The one on the right, a portly man questioned. Nami just let out a nervous chuckle.

"You know these guys?" Luffy commented, completely not reading the mood.

"So these are your friends huh? The middle one commented as they all got off the ship. The middle guy walked up to Luffy arrogantly and said. "Then I guess we'll have to punish the three of you as well. It's time you learned what happens when you steal other peoples stuff!"

Though the comment was made no one, besides Nami that was, looked afraid in the slightest. I was nearly mauled by a giant lion an hour ago. If these turds think they could scare me then they've got another thing coming. On top of that the wound on my back was scabbing over and frankly, was really itchy and it hurt too much to pick at it. And it was also really breezy to, so that really didn't help my ever-so-souring mood. And these nimrods were not helping either.

_I could really use a new shirt. _I thought annoyed. _Why couldn't I have been transported to this world with an extra set of clothing? _My randomly set themselves on the three pirates and a plan formed in my head. One that would kill two birds with one stone.

"Oi dingus." I called out to the pirate who was closest to Luffy. "How about you kindly fuck off." I told him.

"Huh?" The pirates said, no longer putting his attention on me. "'There somethin' you wanna' say to me kid?" He said while trying to sound intimidating. Complete fail on that.

"Yeah I do." I told him. "Go fuck yourself. You cock sucking bastard." Rage contorted on his face as he growled.

"Why you little punk!" He roared while charging me with a raised fist. I went into my pocket, grabbed my fullbring and activated it. He saw the weapon and instantly tried to stop himself but it was to late. I swung it in a way reminiscent to a bat and smacked him upside the head. The force sent him flying back and smacking into his buddies who had crumbled under their friend's added wait.

I walked up to them with and made a look of absolute rage; bared teeth, narrowed eyes, all the works to try and intimidate them. With my fullbring still activated, I raised it up and spoke in a loud and angry voice.

"ALRIGHT SHIT FACES! THIS IS HOW THINGS ARE GONNA GO!" The three pirates looked a little frightened at how loud and angry I was acting. "YOU'RE GOING TO LISTEN TO EVERYTHING I'M GONNA' SAY OR I'LL GUT YOU THREE LKE A FISH!" When they all nodded in fear, I continued.

"FIRST THINGS FIRST YOU ARE ALL GOING TO STRIP DOWN TO YOUR UNDERWEAR!" I told them.

"S-strip?" The fatter pirate questioned. "Why?"

"Because I said so!" I said while lowering my voice. "NOW DO IT!" I yelled as loud as I could.

"Y-YES SIR!" They cried out fearfully as the quickly began to undress themselves. I noticed the weird looks I was getting from everyone else but I didn't care. This was for my personal happiness.

After a moment, they were down in their undies, covering themselves with their arms in embarrassment. Now to rap this up.

"NOW SWIM!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Making them flinch in fear. Need to be angrier! Need to be louder! **"I SAID SWIM! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!" **

With that final screaming command, the pirates fell into hysteria. They jumped off the dock and into the ocean where they began to swim away at high speeds until they were nothing more than dots in the distance.

_It's amazing what the human body can accomplish when under the power of fear. _I inwardly commented. I deactivated my fullbring and shoved it in my pocket. I quickly cleared my throat. _God my throat hurts. I should've held back a little with the screaming. _I thought with a frown while walking over to the pile of abandoned clothing and searching through it.

"What the hell was that all about?" I heard Zoro question from behind me.

"Yeah, you were screaming all loud and stuff." I ignored luffy's comment. It sounded stupid.

"Well if you must know, I decided that I needed a new shirt since mine was all torn up." I explain my plan to them. "And seeing as those three waists of flesh were trying to attack us, I deemed it that they no longer were going to need their clothes."

"Oh. That makes sense." Luffy said with a nod. "But what was with all the yelling?" He questioned.

"It is proven that if you want someone to do something, you have to speak loud, confident, and make them know their place." I explained as I settled on a sleeveless shirt with horizontal purple and yellow stripes. "Add that, combined with fear and intimidation, you can pretty much get anyone to do anything you want." I finished while taking off a my ruined shirt and hoodie.

"That's pretty smart of you." Zoro complimented, and even I could see a begrudging respect in Nami's eyes.

"Yeah, I guess it is." I mumbled while putting on my new shirt. It was a little big but overall, it was fine. I turned to everyone else and clasped my hands together. "Now, what do you guy say about getting off this island?" I said before I hopped onto our ship.

They agreed and soon we were off the island within the next five minutes and back on the see. To keep ourselves from separating, we had tied our little ship to Nami's larger ship. It was also helped that her ship was a little faster than ours, so that was good.

I felt exhaustion take me as soon as I sat myself down against the side of the ship. God, today sure was a tiring day. Fought a lion, learned to better control fullbring, go some mothefuckin' treasure, and we got a new crewmember. Even though I didn't like her and she didn't like me, she played an important part in making this crew function.

"What a day." I said before I let out a loud yawn.

"HEY! HEY YOUNG ONES!"

We all turned our attention to the docks in the distance to see the old mayor. He was conscious and was missing his armor. The old mayor was breathing hardly trying to catch his breath. Did he run here?

He looked up at us with a large grin with tears streaming down his face.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" He yelled at us with joy.

We could only grin back in response to his thanks. Now that I think about it, I did feel all warm and bubbly on the inside. I just saved an entire town from a bunch a evil pirates! I deserved a good pat on the back!

I leaned my head against the boats railing and felt my consciousness drift away. I heard Nami and Luffy arguing in the background along with the sound of splashing water and Zoro laughing. Whatever they were doing I couldn't care less; sleep sounded better than anything.

_And now it's time to go and get Usopp. _I thought before falling totally unconscious.

* * *

**Finally it's done! This chapter is just as long as the first one so I hope you love it! On top of that, I apologize once again for the very slow update. I'm working on other things, and am doing some cleaning up in the earlier chapters. On top of that, there is my new fanfiction, Fate: Too Real, which I encourage you to read. **

**I hope you all comment, favorite, and review! Nigris out. **


	10. Chapter 10

**High there everybody, Nigris here! How did you enjoy my last chapter everybody! I hope you enjoyed it! If you didn't, kindly fuck off! Besides this, I would like to report that I shall deviate from canon at some points before straightening back to the original plot to keep it natural. On another note, once we reach the 'Loguetown Arc' things will start to kick up, I promise! **

**Also, I've gotten a few reviews saying that I'm being too hard on Nami. I apologize, but that is simply who Patrick is. Don't worry; things will be cleaned up between them in the 'Arlong Park' arc, so no worries.**

**I would like to know if I should give Patrick a second fullbring. If you do, then please tell me what you want it to be and what the object is so I can try and fit it into the story.**

**Ok then! Let's start!**

**Chapter 10: A Wacky wonderland**

* * *

It had been two days since we left the last island and left behind the last arc. I had to say I was a little clueless on a few things. They never actually pointed out just how long they sailed when in between arcs, so I was going to be left blind for a certain amount of time until we reach the next arc.

I had also been spending this short amount of time reminiscing on 'Syrup Village Arc' and the 'Baratie Arc'. Ever since I realized that I was having problems remembering things because of my amnesia, I had become irritable and skittish. I was going to need this information to navigate everyone through each and every arc and stop the worse things from happening. I couldn't make to much deviation from the original plot, or I'd be blind; I did not want to be blind in this world.

So there I sat, on our little dingy with my fist under my chin. I had been like this these two days. Sometimes I would move around and sit in different positions on the ship, but after some time I just decided to settle myself on my usual spot, the left side of the ship.

Zoro hadn't done much really. We had some small talk but that was it. The rest of the time was spent with him just napping. Not that I minded it. Even if he was snoring, it was still rather peaceful outside, which helped me think.

We were on good terms, something that I was going to try and keep. Usually in most insert-fanfics that I've read, the main character got into fights with Zoro, something that I didn't plan on doing. I was going to be friendly, and try not to argue with him.

Nami…well I didn't have any contact with her really. She stayed on her ship and I stayed on mine. Once or twice our eyes would meet before we would look away. We did not like each other a single bit. And while I admit that I went a tad bit far yesterday in our argument, I was not going to apologize.

She was way too annoying and frankly, she got on my nerves. And yeah I know she's suffered a lot with Arlong and everything (Something that I planned to fix) but really, I just did not enjoy that moneygrubber's presence. Interaction was going to be kept to a minimum with her.

Luffy was doing what he was best at. Being annoying. So far, he has either complained about being hungry or board; sometimes he would sing. Usually, I wouldn't have had a problem with that, if it weren't for the fact that he was so off-key that it hurt my ears. Zoro would either wake up or yell at him to shut up or Nami would reach over from her ship and smack him.

Sadly, that did not deter him in the slightest. I had contemplated whether I should smack him with my fullbring (Oh so very tempting), but that could possibly cause more problems. So I just sat there on my side of the ship trying to block out the growing tumor that was Luffy.

Sadly. Peace could only last for so long before chaos rolled in.

"MY HAT! IT'S FIXED!"

I let out a soft growl beneath my breath as I looked up at Luffy. He was holding up his newly repaired hat high in the air while standing at the bow of the ship with a single foot resting on its railing. He was laughing loudly in his happiness, something that I was lacking at the moment.

Zoro was sleeping on the boats ground with his arms bent behind his head to form a makeshift pillow. His three swords were resting by his side. I was actually a little worried for Zoro. Luffy was so close to stepping on his head; one mishap from Luffy and that was it.

"I just mended the cuts was all." Nami commented with a sewing needle in hand. "I think that should do it." She told him. "Just try not to mess with it to much." Nami said to Luffy who was jabbing his hat with his finger.

"STOP THAT YOU MORON!" She yelled while throwing the needle at his head with surprisingly great marksmanship. The needle hit like a dart on a dartboard and Luffy fell over crying in pain clasping his forehead. I could see blood squirting from his head like a fountain.

Zoro yawned before sitting up. "You guys are too noisy! I can't sleep with all this noise." He complained while scratching his moss-colored hair. "What's with all the noise?" It's just Luffy being an idiot. Go back to sleep.

"Hey, I'm hungry!" Luffy called out while getting back up. Was someone going to tell him he still had a needle in his head? He seemed completely oblivious to it. I guess instead of 'Mind over matter.' it's 'Stomach over matter.'

"Yeah, me too." Zoro said while looking at Nami. "Give us some food." That only seemed to make Nami even angrier.

"Geeze, you guys need to be more prepared!" I realized that on day one when Luffy ate the food Nami. "You guys don't bring any food or water and you guys set to see; are you morons!?" It was Luffy's fault. "You guys really underestimated the sea." Nami heaved a sigh.

"Hey, I see something!" Luffy commented while looking off into the distance. At the same time, He reached up to the needle in his head, easily plucked it out, and tossed it into the ocean. While that happened, I saw Nami walk into the indoor area of her ship. She quickly came out of it, a large loaf of bread in hand. She tossed it towards Zoro who easily caught it and took a big bight from it without hesitation.

"Heya' Zoro. Can I have some?" Seeing Zoro eat right in front of me, made my stomach clench a little. Zoro looked at me with annoyance as he tore into it. "Please?" I asked again. We stared at each other for a moment before Zoro tore off a nice sized chunk and gave it tossed it to me. I caught the breach chunk with both hands before looking to our Zoro. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He said in a rather cool way before digging back into his food. Wow, Zoro was such a nice guy at times.

"That island is no good!" Nami declared, peering through a pair of binoculars. Where did she get those? "It's unpopulated, so it's practically useless! Let's keep going." She him. That's odd, why did I suddenly feel the boat suddenly lunge? And why was Luffy breathing so hardly? It took me a moment to realize that Luffy had taken both oars in hand and was now rowing towards the island.

"Let's if we can find someone who can join our crew their." Luffy said with his usual grin.

"We should look for food too." I said, getting a nod from Zoro. "Nami was right, we weren't prepared for this to happen."

"WOULD YOU MORONS WAIT FOR ME!?" Nami yelled from behind us.

* * *

It had taken some time but we had finally made it. Nami had decided to scream and yell at us like there was no tomorrow. And while I didn't exactly enjoy having my eardrums broken, Luffy and Zoro weren't even bothered by it. Well Zoro was asleep…but seriously, how does he do it? Any normal person would've woken up from her shrill shrieking! But Zoro was really the definition of normal now was he.

While I stared at the slumbering form of Zoro, I never even noticed that we had finally made it to the island's shores until I felt the bottom of the boat hit sand. Though the landing wasn't that pleasing since I was nearly thrown on my face, I was glad to be out of the boat. Sure, sailing out in the sea sounded fun, but being kept in such an enclosed space was not very pleasing. So when I saw the uninhabited island covered in a lush forest and large boulders, I could feel a sense of relief.

"There's nothing here but forest!" Luffy shouted out as he hopped off the boat. I stood up from my spot and, with a little work, I was able to make my way off the boat and began my walk to Luffy.

"Like I said, this is an unpopulated island." Nami chimed as she soon joined us. "It would be weird if you found someone for the crew here." Luffy didn't pay attention to her, and instead looked back to the slumbering Zoro.

"Hey Zoro! Get over here!" Zoro didn't even flinch at Luffy's calling.

"Hey you're sleeping!" Luffy said in a rather childishly angry way as he stormed towards the swordsman.

"Don't bother." I called out to him. "Seeing Zoro, it would probably take a bomb to wake him up." That got him to stop. "Let's just let him sleep; he isn't going anywhere." Well unless he woke up and decided to take a look around. We'd be here for a day if that happened since he somehow always got lost.

"Yeah, you're right Patrick!" Luffy said while turning on his and walked towards the forests. "Well let's go!" He cheered. Nami asked where, which he replied. "To the forest! You never know, there could be people inside there!" Luffy sure was an optimistic person, huh.

"There is nothing here!" Nami said trying to stop the idiot. I would've too, but I knew it would be a pointless action. "The only things here are poisonous snakes and wild animals!" True Nami. But Luffy won't stop until proven wrong or gets distracted by a large piece of meat.

"Pock-pock-PUCKACK!"

"Did you guys here that?" I questioned my crewmates why turning my head every which way. "It was weird, like some sorta bird." I commented while searching for the source of said strange sound.

"Yeah, but is sounded of sorta'." Nami agreed, something that we obviously weren't going to be doing often.

"A bird! Hey, maybe we can catch it and eat it!?" Luffy commented with his usual grin as drool dripped from his mouth.

"Do you always have to think with your stomach?" Nami commented with an annoyed tone in it. "An wipe that drool from your mouth! It's disgusting!" At Nami's command, Luffy used his forearm to wipe away the accumulated saliva. Yuck.

"PUCKACK! Pock-pock-pock. PUCKACK!"

"There it is again." Nami said while looking around. "Just what is that?" It sounded a little like a bird but…off.

Suddenly, a bush to our right began to shake a little gaining our attention. And when it finally came out for our eyes to see, I could only raise an eyebrow at the chimera-like creature before me.

_I thought I was in the One piece universe. Not that Avatar universe. _I thought as I stared at the mashup of animals before me.

It was a fox…and a rooster. Well, more along the lines of a fox with rooster-like characteristics. In the place of its tail were feathers and atop its head was a large red comb and on its chin was a wattle.

"What in the name of god's creations is that supposed to be?" I questioned aloud with scrunched eyebrows and an accommodating frown.

"That thing is not natural." Nami stated while I nodded. I would've expected to see things like that in the grandline, not here.

"Hey, look! What a weird rabbit!" I heard Luffy comment. And I turned around to see Luffy holding the love child of a rabbit and snake, which was rather ironic. It was a snake covered in white fur with a scaly underbelly. Poking out of its head were two rabbit ears.

As I stared at it, I began to question Darwin's law of evolution. I'm pretty sure this thing would've died out in the first few years. Unless it was more like a mule, in which it was a crossbreed of a rabbit and a snake. That meant it would've been sterile because their chromosome numbers wouldn't match equally. Therefore they would've had trouble making sperm and eggs. Or something like that.

But this is the one piece universe, so that really didn't matter.

"It's weird alright! But I think it's more of a mutant snake than a rabbit!" Nami said rather freaked out.

"Than how about that pig over there?" Luffy questioned while pointing at a pig…with a lion's mane.

"That's a pig." I told him. "A weird, mutant pig." I wonder if there was nuclear waist in the water.

"Hehehehehehehe! This island is really weird!" Luffy said jollily while marching further into the forest. Sadly, we were stopped by a booming voice.

"**DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!"**

"Huh?" Luffy said while looking around for the voice that echoed everywhere. "What was that sound?" He asked confusedly.

_This is suddenly starting to look very familiar. _I commented inwardly while rubbing my chin. _But what is this? _I questioned as Nami asked who the voice was.

"**ME? I AM THE GAURDIAN OF THE FOREST!" **It proclaimed.

"The forest guardian?" Luffy questioned.

"**THAT'S RIGHT! IF YOU STILL WANT TO LEAVE, THAN LEAVE AT ONCE!" **It bellowed. There was a pause before it continued. **"YOU'RE PIRATES AREN'T YOU!?" **It questioned.

"Yes!" Luffy answered.

"Why did he ask that?" Nami labeled it as a 'he'…I feel like that's relevant.

"**SO YOU ARE PIRATES!"** It accused us.

"Why did it ask that?" Nami questioned.

"**LISTEN WELL, DON'T TAKE A SINGLE STEP FURTHER INTO THE FOREST!" **It commanded us. **"OR ELSE YOU WILL FACE… THE FOREST JUDGEMENT!"** The forest judgment, huh? That didn't sound that bad actually.

"Who cares!?" Luffy said while making a 'humph' sound. "What a weird guy." Luffy insulted.

"**HEY, THE BRAT WITH THE STRAWHAT, WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" **He yelled at Luffy angrily.

"Where are you, come out!" Nami yelled.

"It looks like that voice is coming from over there." I said while pointing at an area further in the forest. Luffy decided to check it out and began to walk towards it.

"**HEY! I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME CLOSER!" **The voice yelled at us. But Luffy didn't pay any attention to it and continued forward.

"**FINE THEN! RECEIVE THE FOREST JUDGMENT!"**

_Just what the heck is 'Forest Judgment' anyway-._

-BANG-

"Ugh!"

I jumped at the sudden sound of gunfire and a cry of pain from Luffy and turned to look at my idiot captain. His vest had bin pierced by his heart, and judging by the way his skin was stretching around that area, I could only assume that he had been shot.

I was proven right when with a shout his skin snapped back into place and something, most likely a bullet, was sent whizzing into the forest. Everything was really quiet for a moment before the 'Guardian of the forest' spoke again.

"**Huh!?" **It cried out. It suddenly had lost its loud, echoing force behind its words also.

"What a shock." Nami sighed out while gripping her chest. "That was a bullet right? So bullets don't affect you?" She questioned.

"No. But that sure did surprise me!" Luffy commented while he re-adjusted his hat.

"**What…what kind of thing are you?" **It questioned in shock.

"That's our line!" I fire back while walking in a certain direction. I think I could finally here the direction from where it was coming from. "The bullet came from over here." I told them. Nami and Luffy fallowed after me, probably to see just who this bastard was.

"Look there's a pistol!" Nami said while pointing at the flintlock-like pistol, lying on the ground, the end of the barrel still smoking. It was placed right next to…a chest with a ball of green fur growing out of it? What?

"What?" I voiced my confusion over the strange object before me. I crouched down next to it to get a better look. It smelled like sweat, fish, and crap. This thing was not sanitary.

"What the heck is this thing?" Luffy questioned while joining my side.

"It doesn't look very normal." Nami commented. I reached out with my right hand to poke at the giant fuzz ball sitting on top of the chest.

Sadly. It ran away

Two big feet popped out of the bottom of the chest and it zoomed away. While Nami and Luffy let out cries of surprise I was still frozen in the same exact position. I was not expecting that! Sadly, the running box didn't make far before it tripped and fell over.

We all looked at each other before walking over to the runaway chest. As we stood over it, it grunted and wobbled as it tried and failed to get up. Luffy, being the great guy he was put his foot on it, and rolled it over.

What we got was a chubby face with an unkempt black beard and big mouth. It had connected eyebrows and the large grin fuzz ball was actually a giant green afro.

"Why don't you guys lift me up!?" It- no he yelled at us as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Wow, it's a man." Nami said while staring down at him.

"What an interesting cauliflower head!" Of love how you can relate just about everything you see to food.

_Oh wait a minute! Now I remember! _I thought, pleased that my mind had offered up to me the information I was looking for.

"WOULD YOU LIFT ME UP ALREADY!"

* * *

We did lift him up. He was the only person here that could give us answers after all, so it seemed only right. While Gaimon (From what my memories told me) wasn't very trusting of us, Luffy was more than glad enough to try and befriend him. It didn't take long from there as Luffy's bright and jolly attitude grated against Gaimon. I guess he didn't see a threat in the jolly idiot. He quickly apologized to us after.

After gaining some of his trust, he said he would lead us out of the forest and to a different section of the island's shores. On the way, Gaimon asked how he stopped the bullet, which Luffy replied with 'I ate the Gum Gum fruit!'; Gaimon was rather shocked to say the least.

When we finally made it to the other shore, I could only make a comparison between them. The first one had sand, this one was full of large rock formations, and not a single grain of sand was in sight. At the moment we were all sitting on some of the many large rock formations. Gaimon just stood there, seeing as he was stuck in the chest.

"So you ate the Gum Gum fruit…" Gaimon began. "…it's one of those devil's fruit right?" he inquired. "I've heard about those before, but I've never actually met someone who ate that kind of fruit." He explained to us.

"Well this is the first time I've met someone who's stuck in a treasure chest." Luffy said with a grin. "You're just like a jack-in-a-box!"

"Yeah…my parents took care of me when I was still small-ARE YOU AN IDIOT!" Gaimon shouted at Luffy. "I got stuck in here and I can't get out!" Yep. That's how it went. And he's been-…"I've lived on this island like this for 20 years!" Yep. Gaimon has been on this island for 20 years.

"What!? 20 years! You've been living on this island alone for 20 years!?" She said with shock.

"Yes…20 years." He said with a sigh.

I really didn't like this episode. Not because it wasn't good, but because it was pretty sad. I mean, Gaimon has been stuck on this island, in a box, for 20 years; no other human life anywhere. And he can't even reach the treasure he's been trying to get because A) He's stuck in a box. And B) The treasure wasn't here anymore!

_Poor guy. _I thought with a soft sigh.

"That's really stupid." Luffy said bluntly.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?" Gaimon yelled in anger. "I'M GONNA' KILL YOU!" After he led out a frustrated sigh and closed his eyes. "20 years…what a long time. My hair and mustache have already grown this long, and even my eyebrows have connected." Opening his eyes, he looked at all of us. "I haven't talked to anyone in 20 years." God that sounded depressing. Really depressing.

Luffy stared down at Gaimon soundlessly, something that I found to be a little foreboding. And I was right. Luffy went up behind him, gripped him by his upper jaw and began to pull. Our cauliflower-like friend began to cry and yell as Luffy yanked and tugged; every word was mangled.

IT HUWTS! IT HUWTS! WHAH DA HALL AR YOU 'OING!" He tried to yell over Luffy's constant tugging. "SHTAP! MY NACK ISH GONNA BREK!" I was curious as to why Nami or I hadn't even stopped Luffy yet. I'm sure that I, a good samaritan such as I, would have quickly tried to stop Luffy and his shenanigans. So what happened to me that would make not do this I wonder?

_I blame One Piece. _It was the only answer.

"Why can't I pull you out!" Luffy grunted out. Before letting go. With a sigh, he returned back to his original seat as Gaimon's stubby hands were reached up to his mouth as he groaned in pain. That groaning quickly gave way to anger as he turned to Luffy and began to yell, something he's been doing a lot since we've met him.

"You're crazy! I haven't moved in years!" Gaimon's rage-induced yelling had zero effect on Luffy, who was currently picking his nose. "My body and this Treasure chest have already become one! If you are going to forcefully pull me out, my body would be done for!" Well, I suppose being stuck in a treasure chest would do that to you. Though I'm pretty sure by that time the chest would've broken by now.

"But how did you get stuck on this island?" Nami asked.

Gaimon went on to explain how he was a pirate, something that caught Nami's and Luffy's interest. It soon lead to a discussion on the 'Red Line' and the 'Grand Line', as well as where it was located because Luffy and Gaimon couldn't read maps for shit. I decided to stay quiet through this because frankly, I knew all this information.

Talk quickly shifted as Gaimon explained why he was stuck on this island because that treasure (Which sadly wasn't there) which was atop that large rock-hill, how he had gotten stuck in the treasure chest, and how his crewmembers left him behind. Gaimon then told us how he was protecting this island this past 20 years from pirates who were also after the treasure with his 'Forest Judgment' thing.

"But I've been stuck in this chest for the past 20 years, protecting the treasure!" He yelled out loudly. "That treasure is all mine!" He proclaimed at the top of his lungs.

"Your right!" Luffy agreed. "That treasure is yours uncle cauliflower!" Did Luffy even remember his name?

"Okay Gaimon! We're going to help you bring those treasure chests down!" Nami said. I really wanted to say she wanted it for herself, but I knew in reality that she wasn't that bad of a person. She had morals.

"What? Is that true?" Gaimon questioned in shock. "That's very nice! I knew I hadn't misjudged you all!"

"Aren't you a professional thief that steals from pirates?" Stop trying to destroy my new, barely stable, outlook on Nami Luffy.

Nami voiced her thoughts on what Luffy said too. "Don't speak nonsense! I have principles too ya' know!"

"Well, if we're going to help you out, than you're going to have to show us just where it's at." I told him while getting up from me seated position. "So Gaimon, do you mind helping us out so we can help you out?" I asked him with a smile.

Gaimon smiled, showing of a missing tooth. "Yeah!" He said while waddling away in the forest's direction. "Follow me, I'll lead you there." When he said that, we all followed after his small form.

* * *

It didn't take long for us to reach the cliff structure he was talking about. I was able to spot it just as we re-entered the forest. And as we got closer to it found myself having to tilt my head higher every few steps. And when we finally reached it, I could finally get a better grasp on the sheer size of it. All in all, it had to have been twenty meters tall, give or take a foot.

_You'd have to be insane to climb that thing without climbing gear. _I thought with a frown before turning my eyes to the man we were doing this for. _And Gaimon climbed this thing with his bare hands. _Ok, that was awesome! It wasn't one piece awesome, but it was real world awesome!

"Here it is." Gaimon said. "It's been a long time…since I've been here." He said in a reminiscing tone. "I haven't trusted anyone who's come to this island; anyone who saw me like this probably wouldn't believe me anyways." A large grin spread on his face. "I've waited for this day for so long! Today is the happiest day of my life!"

I really wanted to do something, I really did. But what exactly could I do? Sure I know that in most insert fanfics that main character would try and change things for the better. Sure, I planned on doing that, but there wasn't really anything I could do here. So no matter how depressing I found it I would have to live with it. The only thing I could do was feel good that it ended on a happier note at least.

"Okay, go for it!" Nami said while putting her hand on Luffy's shoulder. He looked back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You want me to go up there?" He asked.

"Of course! Do you think I could climb that!?" She told him in that bossy manner of hers.

"We're counting on you strawhat kid!" Gaimon cheered.

"Yep. Go for it Luffy! Get the treasure Luffy!" I encouraged…well tried to sound encouraging. It wasn't really fun knowing how this was going to end; there was no anticipation like in the anime and manga. On top of that, how can I sound happy and cheerful when I know this is going to end badly? I may be good at lying and faking a smile, but there was no way I was doing it here.

"Ok! Up we go!" He yelled before swinging his right arm forward. I was able to here Gaimon gasp in shock when Luffy's arm stretched, shot up, and grasped the ledge of the cliff. The rest of Luffy quickly followed by as he was shot up into the air and landed on top. He quickly disappeared from peripheral view when he backed away from the edge.

As this ensued, I kept my face blank except for a frown. I was almost trying not to sigh. This was like reading Oedipus Rex for the second time; you knew it would end badly.

Luffy came back to the edge, holding one of the empty treasure chests, his face was completely shadowed over by the shadow his hat was casting. "There really are treasure chests up here!" He called down. "There are five of them!" Yeah, five empty ones.

I huffed as Gaimon and Nami grinned with elation. "That's great!" He called back, cupping his stubby arms around his mouth. "Quickly, drop them here! Just don't hit me! Wahahahaha!"

"No way!" The next words Luffy yelled caused a slight silence as the others tried to cognize what he just said. After a moment, Gaimon let out a soft, confused 'Huh?'. It was the kind that you make when you've worked so hard towards a goal for so long, only to have what you wanted taken away right in front of you.

Nami wasn't as quiet as the man next to her. "Stop joking around already! Just drop the treasure chests!" Oh Nami, only if you knew… "Hurry up and drop them to me!" She yelled up with agitation.

"No way!" He yelled back, only inciting more of Nami's rage.

"Fine then! Don't you ever come down here again!" She yelled as hard as her lungs would let her. Gaimon was oddly silent. His eyes were casted downward and were shadowed by a combination of his afro and the position of the sun. I could see pinpricks of tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Don't worry about the treasure!" His voice was slightly strained. "It's ok…if he doesn't want to drop them here." He finished.

Nami's head snapped down to stare at Gaimon in shock. "How can you say that!? That's your treasure!" She yelled at him with disbelief. He didn't answer as his lower lip quivered a little. Mine was too. Instead he decided to look up at Luffy with a big smile.

"Strawhat kid…you…you are a good person." He said with joy as his tears grew and quickly began to trail down his eyes. Luffy had sat down, the treasure chest placed next to him.

"W-what!? What are you saying!?" Nami yelled in a small fit of hysteria.

"Actually…I've thought about it before." Gaimon finally said before he took in a deep inhale of breath. "It might've been a possibility…but I've never tried to think on it." He tried to say as tears flowed down his cheeks in waves.

"The treasure chests…are empty aren't they?" He questioned while wiping away his pouring tears.

_God damnit. _I thought as a loan tear dripped down my eye. _God fucking damnit all! _I was a tough guy, physically and mentally. I'm not one to cry and I sure as hell am not going to do it anytime soon. But this was…really heart wrenching! This guy, Gaimon, spent 20 years of his life trying to get that treasure! Twenty years! I want someone to look me dead in the eye and tell me that wasn't depressing! It was always the depressing sad stuff that tugged at my heartstrings!

_I was always told that I was big softy on the inside. _I thought with a sniff while gazing at the crying Gaimon. And they were right; I was a big softy on the inside. Not that I would admit that. The day that happened was the day Zoro gained a sense of direction and Sanji swung the other way. So never.

"They're all empty!" Luffy yelled back down.

"The treasure actually did exist." He said between sniffles. "But by the time we found it other people had taken it already." Another tear ran down my check so eye wiped it away. Damn it! I would not cry! Get back in there tear! Get the fuck in there!

"That can't be. The treasure you've guarded for 20 years…were just a bunch of empty chests." She mumbled out in shock of the entire situation.

"I guess that makes sense." I finally said after so long of keeping silent. "The east blue is a big place; massive really. It's not really surprising that something like happened once you think about it." I spoke with a solemn tone as I explained.

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

And of course only Luffy would, and could, laugh in a moment like this. He was too jolly of an idiot to do anything else but laugh and giggle. Geeze, sometimes I wished I had the mentality to do that, laughing off every little problem.

"Don't be disappointed uncle cauliflower!" Luffy told him with his usual grin. "You meeting us after 20 years is a really good thing too!" He yelled down. "'Cause if it had been 30 years you might've already been dead!" I could see tears still falling from Gaimon's face. But judging from the smile now blemishing his face, they were probably tears of joy.

"Don't worry, there's still the great treasure the one piece!" Luffy told him. "It's waiting for us out there; will you join us uncle!?" He asked.

Gaimon was stunned with the question. He gulped before speaking. "You…you…you're inviting me?" He questioned with shock and joy.

_From what I remember, Luffy did try and recruit Gaimon. _Well that was true. But he also tried to get a zombie tree man and a unicorn to join also. Actually, he's pretty much asked everything unnatural (By one piece standards) to join his crew. _So I guess that's why he's asking him to join too. _I really wanted to think it was for some deeper reason but…this was Luffy.

_Oh well, not like it matters to me. _Even if he did join, something that was not in canon, it's not like I could complain about it. I'm the first-mate after all, not the captain. _On top of that, it doesn't matter if he is canon or not. _As long as I don't deviate from the plot too much, I should be ok.

"So let's see what happens." I mumbled quietly beneath my breath while staring at Gaimon.

* * *

The rhythmic crashing of the waves gave an almost peaceful feeling at the shores. Though I thought that it would've been better without the smell of salt water and Zoro's deafening snores, it was rather nice in my opinion.

We had headed back to the shore where Zoro and our ship were soon after Gaimon gave us his answer. The answer: No.

"Uncle…are you sure you want to stay on this island?" Luffy asked Gaimon.

"I'm sure." He said with a smile. "I thank you for inviting me on your journey, but I still want to be the forest guardian." He told him.

"Why's that?" Nami asked.

"Because there are so many rare animals on this island." Rare he says. More like freak accidents. "There were many people who've come to this island for them, and they've grown precious to me in these 20 years. I can't leave them behind!" He explained with enthusiasm.

"You're a rare an precious animal too, uncle!" Was that Luffy's way of giving a compliment?

"I'm gonna' kill you!" Gaimon yelled before giving a sigh. It seems he's learning the antics of Luffy. "Now that I know the treasure is gone, I feel somewhat relieved. I can live on this island peacefully." He told him.

"It's a shame you can't come with us. You're an interesting person uncle!" Luffy told him.

"I'm sure you'll find good companions for your journey!" Yeah, we will. One's a cyborg and another's a skeleton musician. "And find the one piece. Then by the whole world!" Not the words I'd use, but ok.

"That's right, I can do it!" Luffy said while hopping onto our ship. Me an Nami soon followed after. "See ya!" He said while waving to Gaimon.

Gaimon flashed a large grin and said back. "Goodbye! And good Luck!"

As our ships sailed away from the islands, I was seated in what I had dubbed my seat on the small ship: the left side. The sun was currently setting, turning the ocean into shining sea of fire. While I stared at the disappearing island we had just left, and the interesting man we had met, I could only think one thing.

Though it wasn't the best episode, it sure was interesting.

_Makes you think what other crazy things I'm gonna' see. _I told myself while shutting my eyes, preparing to hunker down and sleep.

Oh well, I'll find out tomorrow. For now, I'll sleep.

* * *

**Finally done! Though some people don't really enjoy this episode/chapter, this one is one of my favorites that is not in any of the arcs. It's really hard to explain actually; I just enjoy it. The story behind it is short and sweet, there are funny parts, sad parts; overall it's good! Anyways, until the (Hopefully soon) next chapter, goodbye!**

**Nigris Out…**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey there followers of this story! Welcome to the 11th chapter! I am so happy that I've finally able to make it thi far into this story and already have 5,000 views! My last story (Which I have taken down) was only able to make it to the 9th chapter before I took it off. There were simply too many writing problems and plot holes in it for it to ever work out, so I'm really glad I was able to make it here. I thank all of you for staying onboard with me on this journey.**

**That is all I wish to say. Thank you, let's go.**

**Chapter 11: The greatest coward**

* * *

I had to say. This was not how I thought I would start this day out. Even when Luffy was annoying as always, things were still slightly calm. But I learned one thing though.

Never trust Nami while trying to sleep.

My tired eyes scanned over to Nami, who was on her own separate boat. I stared at her with slightly narrowed eyes. It was because of her, my peaceful morning had been ruined. Sure she looked fine from this angle, but I knew the damage I had done would be clearly visible if she were to turn. It seemed that female dog had caught my spying eyes and turned in my direction to glare fiercely at me. This act had revealed a nicely swollen, black eye.

We stayed like that for a moment, leveling our hate-filled eyes towards each other. Nami then broke our eye contact by closing her eyes and swiveling her head in the opposite direction with a 'humph'.

"Sweet mother of god." I sighed out while closing my own eyes and leaning back into my spot. "I never thought she'd pull something like that." I mumbled while pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Hey, did you and Nami get into a fight or something?" I heard Luffy ask. Opening my eyes, I turned to my left and saw Luffy standing over me. I gave him a sigh before shaking my head.

"Or something." I said, remembering just how my day had taken a turn for the worse.

It happened early in the morning; it had to be around 5:00 AM. At the time, I was trying to get some more sleep because Luffy and Zoro had decided to make me work for my ticket to the land of Nod. The two knuckleheads were snoring and snorting all throughout the night. That meant that when I actually did manage to fall asleep one of them would be kind enough to wake me up again. That left me in a zombie-like state trying to keep each eye open.

Sadly, because of this, I was also left bored. It wasn't very entertaining having to sit still in one single space for hours on end; nearly wanted to tear my own hair out. I was able to keep myself sane through the process of lazily sifting my hand through the ocean water every once in a while, but that could only last for so long.

In the end, I went back to trying to sleep. Who knows, maybe I'd try to sleep through the day like Zoro does every waking moment of his life.

I believe that was the moment Nami made her move.

It was extremely hard telling the difference between the boat's swaying motion and feeling of extra weight being put upon it. But when I heard the boat creek softly from soft footsteps, I knew something was happening. I let it be though, thinking that it could've been Luffy getting up or Zoro just shifting around to get into a better sleeping position.

But when I felt a hand softly touch my chest, I knew something was up. There was no way Luffy or Zoro would do something like this. Zoro wasn't gay, and Luffy's IQ was too low to comprehend things like that.

Suddenly I felt the chain ran around my neck being tugged and messed with. So seeing as that was annoying me, I decided to check out just what the heck was going on.

Oh look! There was Nami's face! Barely an inch from mine!

Nami, for some reason, was crouched down right in front of me. She was so close to me in fact that I could feel her breath on my face; she needed Colgate. Her hand was placed right against my chest. More specifically, right on top of my fabulous amulet, which I had claimed not too long ago.

We stared at one another in shock. My eyebrows were raised all the way and a confused frown marred my face. Nami on the other hand was completely stone-faced with a slightly opened mouth. We stared at each other for a few moments longer before my cognitive senses caught up with what I was seeing.

So I punched her. I punched her straight in the face.

Not only had the punched connect, it had enough force to throw her into the ocean with a –splash- that sent a small drizzle of seawater raining down upon me.

After a soaked Nami struggled to get back on her ship, she had yelled at me with the force of a hundred sirens. Me, I roared back in shock and anger because I had absolutely no idea what she was doing. All the while, she tried to make it sound like this was my fault while I screamed back at her about how she was trying to steal my treasure (It wasn't hard to figure out; hell, her hands were on the amulet).

In the end, we had ended our argument in grumbles as we both sat quietly on our individual ships. In the end, I was angrier over the fact that I was barely able to sleep. I was not a happy camper when I had no sleep. Actually, I wasn't even a camper, more like Satan. I was grumpy, I was rude; I became a giant rectum of rudeness and obscenities.

Besides that, the only thing that I found the slightest bit interesting was the fact that neither Zoro nor Luffy had woken in the middle of our shouting match. Deep sleepers I guess.

_Honestly, I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up too quickly. _And to think, my thoughts on Nami being a complete bitch were just beginning to lighten a little. _Well, I guess I can throw those ideas out the window. _I told myself while leaning my head back. My body felt tired, and doing anything physical felt exhausting.

"Hey Nami!" Luffy called out to the pain in my side. "What happened to your eye? It's all swollen and black." He called out.

"Shut up!" Nami yelled back angrily, not that it bothered my idiot captain. "Nothing happened!" She told Luffy with a growl.

"Oh ok!" Luffy said before sitting down against the boat's mast and began humming.

"Geeze what's wrong with you Patrick? You look like crap." Zoro commented with a frown. He was right, I probably did look like crap.

I gave him a yawn first. "No sleep." I answered in a mumble. He gave an understanding look before going back to laying back down. The lucky bastard quickly fell asleep after, drifting off into unconscious; I wish I could do that.

"Nami! I'm hungry! Feed me meat!" Luffy yelled at our navigator.

Nami sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. "Listen here you moron. Because of you three's eating habits, we're almost out of food!" Oi! Don't lump me in with those two shit heads you ungrateful bitch! "We need to be better prepared!" She told us.

"Huh? Whad'ya mean?" Luffy said with confusion.

"Are we going to the grandline like _this_!?" She asked rhetorically.

"Oh right!" He said with a grin of realization. "You said we were low on food, so we need more food!" Luffy you moron!

"Luffy you moron." I groaned out quietly while lying down on the wooden floor. It was more comfortable than sitting up. Warm…

"I'm not talking about the food supplies!

"And we don't have any sake or rum to drink either! How boring!" When the heck did Zoro wake up? Why did Zoro wake up? Didn't he just fall asleep.

"You two are such morons! Let's worry about the food and booze problem later!" As Nami left, I could feel my last nerve instantly crushed. Instead of going batshit crazy, I took a deep breath a sat up.

"Look you two, shut up and let me explain to you what she means because frankly, everytime you speak I can feel my blood pressure go up a little." I took a deep breath before continuing. "The grandline is called the most dangerous place in the world, and if you wish to obtain the one piece, you gotta' go through it. So if you want to actually survive through it, we are going to need a ton of things." I told Luffy who was listening rather intently.

"Yeah like what?" He asked me.

"Well for one thing, a new ship. I really doubt these two things will survive a day in there." I started. "Some equipment for the ride there would be great too. And maybe some new crew members; a doctor, or a cook." Oh wait, Sanji is coming after this arc. I was not a fan of him. I turned my drowsy eyes on Nami. I was too tired to be angry right now. "Nami, are there any islands close by?" I asked her.

She looked at me with her one good eye. "Yeah." She said while holding up a map to her face. "There's a populated island due north. We should head there first." She said before putting it down. "When we get there, we should really look for a better ship." Damn straight! I couldn't wait to get on the Merry! So let's kick Kuro's ass and get it over with.!

"AND GET MORE MEAT!" Luffy cheered. Luffy and Zoro began to throw out several other things they would want, and Nami began working her magic while turning the sail and doing other stuff. It seemed I was no longer needed, so I laid back down and closed my eyes. Maybe I'll fall asleep.

* * *

I didn't fall asleep. Between Luffy's usual annoying attitude, Nami's yelling at Luffy and Zoro, to do certain things like turn the sails and stuff, and Zoro yelling back at Nami for being a bitch, sleeping was not in my options. So all I could really do is curl up into a ball and try not to have an emotional breakdown. I was not fully capable without sleep.

In the end, I couldn't lay down. Zoro had told me to get off my ass and help. And while I would've loved to tell him to take his command and shove it in a place where the sun's rays could not reach it, that would've been rude. So I gave in and gave a hand in directing our ships towards Syrup village.

At the time I was no longer seated in my usual spot. Now, I was seated at the front of the boat staring at the incoming island with tired eyes. Actually wait, the Gecko islands were an archipelago. So islands. Anyways, Luffy was seated on the small bowsprit of the ship, somehow keeping balance. Zoro was seated at the back, his eyes closed and swords by his side. Nami was staring through a small telescope, peering at the far off island in the distance.

"What do you thinks gonna' be on the island?" Luffy said in excitement, literally hopping in place. "Maybe some meat!" I wonder how you haven't had your stomach pumped yet Luffy. At most, you've gotta' have high cholesterol.

"Don't know. Maybe a bed." I said followed by a yawn. "Maybe a new ship also." Maybe an evil cat-themed pirate whose ass we have to kick. "There could be anything."

"I hope the have some meat!" Luffy cheered as some drool leaked from the side of his mouth.

"And some booze; let's not forget about booze!" Zoro chimed in from behind us.

"Geeze, don't you three idiots have anything better to do than just sit around like that?" Nami sighed from her ship that was trailing a tad farther than us.

I snapped my fingers in fake resolution. "I have an idea. Maybe we can get you an ice-pack for that swollen eye of yours?" Though I didn't look at her, I could here a feminine growl. That'll teach that stupid bi-.

-BAM-

I let out a squeal of pain as something collided with my face with sufficient force to make me fall over and hit the back of my head.

"How's that for swollen you ass!" Oh you greedy bitch!

"Come over and say that to my face!" I yelled while getting up and glaring at her. I was well aware of my bleeding nose, but the priority of beating Nami into a blood pulp needed to be taken care of first. "I'll rip your heart out with a fuckin spoon!" Ok, don't know where that came from.

We glared at each other; I hoped she caught fire. I'm sure she was also wishing for some terrible fate to befall me as well. But before anything could happen, Luffy called out.

"Hey guys, we reached the island!" He yelled out with excitement.

Our anger was momentarily stunned as we both turned to look in the direction of the Island. It wasn't so far off like the last time I was peering at it. If I had to guess it had be quite a few meters away. We'll probably arrive in like the next 10 minutes or something.

"Ok guys, let's start rowing!" Nami hollered. My quelled rage instantly returned at a lower level.

"Why the heck do we have to row?" I questioned her.

"Because, I'm not strong like you freaks!" Oi! I am no freak! "Besides. If we row there, we can get to the island quicker and get a new ship." Well yeah! But-.

"Alright let's do it!" Luffy cheered. While I was blinded by my rage, Luffy had gotten passed me picked up the oars. "For the meat!" Luffy! You are way to influence by your lust for meat! Control yourself!

"She's gotta' point." Zoro commented. I sighed while pinching the bridge of my nose.

_Ok. Calm down. _I told myself while taking a deep breath_. Logically, she's right. _I was not going to agree with her often. _So let's just get this over with now. _Yes; we'll meet Usopp, get some food, and kick Kuro's kitten-themed ass. All will be well.

"Fine. Let's just get this over with." I grumbled while taking one of the oars in his hand and plopping down in the middle. "I wanna' be on that island sitting and eating. Fucking tired of seeing only blue." My life on the see was not looking bright.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Luffy took a seat right next to me, and we instantly began rowing like our lives depended on it. With our combined strengths, our ship had superseded Nami's, and soon her ship was following us. I was sure me and Zoro heard her call for us to slow down, but Zoro wasn't in control and it wasn't possible for me to care less. As for Luffy…well meat.

In the end, Nami's idea had actually worked. We had reached and docked at the beach within 10 minutes or something.

I had to say, the beaches of Syrup village were rather nice. And if I wasn't a cranky ass at the moment, I'm sure I would've wanted to stay here. There were tall cliffs that lead to the beach. On these cliffs was a thick forest, with a large slope, which was sure to lead to the Syrup village.

"Oh man!" I grumbled while stretching upon the beach. "It's finally good to be on land again." I wasn't seasick, but I sure as hell didn't like sitting in the same spot every hour of the day. The only reason I hadn't gone insane was because I was asleep or Luffy's stupidity.

"Your gonna' have some trouble as a pirate if you can't take a little sea travel." Zoro commented jokingly by my side.

"Oh shut up." I mumbled.

"There's a village around here or something right!?" Asked while looking both left and right.

"Yeah, but it looks like a small one though." Nami answered. But she was suddenly mobbed by a drooling Luffy.

"So there's meat! If there's a village there's gotta' be meat!" He said with a hungry grin. There has to be a place to eat in this village!" Luffy took off towards the village as if his life depended on it. "Come on guys!" Oi Luffy! Not all of us are as energetic as you are!

He would have made it onto the slope. If it weren't for the fact that someone was shooting at his legs. A small dust of sand was around Luffy's feat as he danced around not trying to be hit. While Zoro gripped his swords in preparation for battle, and Nami ran to the boats for cover, I just stood there with an annoyed look on my face.

I was so done with this shit.

When the attack finally ended, dozens of black flags rose up from bushes and trees, each with a jolly roger imprinted on them. As they waved around spastically, I could only stare with a look that said 'I'm so done with everything today' because yes, I was done with everything today.

"HA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I AM CAPTAIN USOPP! LEADER OF THE INVINCIBLE NATION OF PIRATES WHO RAIN OVER THIS ISLAND!"

We all glanced upward to where the confident voice had come from, which was atop a part of the cliffs that jutted out slightly more than the rest. For me, I had to squint a little, but I saw him. He stood there with his arms crossed, looking down upon us with a confident grin. He was a little tan, with mid-length, curly black hair. He looked rather normal I suppose.

On his head was an olive green plaid bandanna and a pair of goggles on his head with a blue and white striped armband on his left arm. He wore a pair of brown overalls with a white sash and no shirt. Hanging from his right shoulder was a large satchel. Yes, very normal looking compared to other people I've seen.

Well except for his long nose.

_But I suppose that's what makes Usopp, Usopp. _I thought to myself while staring up at our soon to be coward of a sniper.

Now most people like characters such as Luffy, Zoro and Sanji because they were extremely badass. I do too, but Usopp holds a special place in my heart. He is that awesome character that starts out weak and soon becomes this awesome warrior through the many trials he faces, like Shinji from Evangelion.

"YOU STAND BEFORE A LIVING LEGEND; THE MOST REVEARED PIRATE TO EVER LIVE! I AM THE GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP!"

But now, I found him annoying. His scraggily voice squawking at us, along with 24 hours of no sleep, was not only enough to get on my nerves, but cause an irrational rage to burn up inside me. Like I said before, me and no sleep do not mix well. It's sorta' like toothpaste and peanut butter.

So while he yelled at us with false bravado, my hand had already went into my pocket and picked out my combat-pass.

"SURELY YOU KNOW PLOTTING AN ATTACK ON THIS ISLAND WOULD MEAN DEATH!? MY ARMY OF 80,000,000, SUPER MEAN PIRATE SOLDIERS WOULD SQUASH YOU LIKE BUGS!"

"AWSOOOOOOOOOOOME!" Luffy screamed out. While this was happening, I had activated my fullbring. It seemed Zoro had saw my activated weapon, coupled with the look of uncontrollable rage, on my face and promptly took a few steps back.

"A-AND THAT'S NOT ALL! WITH ME MY SUPER-ULTRA-MEGA-CANNON, I CAN SIMPLY BLAST YOU TO SMITHERINS!" Usopp's shining bluster dulled at the sight of my spiritual weapon. Yet he kept going, even as I began to charge up its power. "FLEE NOW FOOLS OR TASTE THE WRATH OF THE USOPP PIR-!" Ok. Enough is enough!

"SHUT UP!" I yelled while sending a spiritual energy disk at him. Sure it would hurt him, but I'm sure he wouldn't die from it.

But it did not hit my intended target. Instead, it had turned, and curved off to the left where it had impacted the cliffs with a mighty –kaboom-. The force behind it had made an explosion of dust and sent small pieces of rock drizzling onto the beach. A large portion of the cliff had been destroyed, not that I cared. At least Usopp had shut up. Finally! so peaceful and quiet.

"THAT WAS SOOOO COOOOOOOOL!" Luffy yelled in excitement at my attack. His eyes were literally gleaming (Literally! Freaked the hell out of me) and he had a large grin on his face. I turned back to glare at him for a moment, before my eyes locked onto Usopp.

Usopp…well I was sure he crapped himself. He was standing there, his jaw dropped at an unnaturally large length, and his eyes bulged. A loud, high-pitched gurgling sound was coming from him.

I was tired, annoyed, and I could feel a headache coming about. I was not going to deal with any of this crap today!

Usopp still looked completely terrified of me, but it seemed he grew some sort of backbone. Because he quickly pulled out a slingshot from his satchel and aimed the thing at us, a metal ball loaded in it. He looked at us fiercely.

"Don't take single step!" He warned us. "Or I'll show you why they call me proud Usopp, and not cowardly Usopp." The second name sounded better than the first, but that's just my to cents. "You've seen just how good I am with this thing. So you know that I can rival anyone with a pistol." True. Despite him being a coward, his skills with that thing were amazing.

Everything was quiet for a moment as we stood off. But when I saw Luffy come up from behind me, his eyes covered by the shadow his hat cast, I shut down the combat pass, and put it back into my pocket. I think that he was gonna' finish things.

"Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you willing to use it?" That was a slingshot you dipshit. "Guns aren't for threats they're for actions are you willing to risk your life?" Wait, didn't Shanks say something like that? Anyways, everything was extremely quiet as we prepared for whatever was going to happen next.

Usopp was sweating and shaking as he pulled at the pouch of his slingshot. He gulped while staring at us with fright. I let out a tired yawn. Usopp had best make a decision soon, or I'd make one for him.

A decision was made quickly made. Usopp release his grip on the pouch and it went slack. The metallic ball hit the ground and the coward of a sniper fell to his knees with releasing all the oxygen in his lungs. "Real pirates have a lot more power behind their words because they can actually back them up." He said in a whining tone. "That's so cool."

"God damnit." I mumbled out while rubbing my face. "I'm too tired to deal with this crap anymore." I had to sit down and relax, that was that. I looked back to the gang and then to Usopp before nodding my head. I began to travel up the beach and to the slope; that village probably had some place for me to rest.

"Hey Patrick, where 'ya going?" I heard Luffy ask. I termed to him and made a grouchy face because yes, I was grouchy.

"I'm going into the village." I answered him. "I'm too damn tired to be dealing with this crap." I answered before venturing forward again. "Meat again in the village." I answered while giving a backhanded wave.

"Ok bye!" Luffy's cheerful voice was getting on my nerves, creating some irrational anger. No no no! Calm down, just know that salvation is just right past this point! "While you go, I'm gonna' have a chat with Usopp!" Ok good for you. Just leave me the hell alone!

"Hold on wait! How do you know my name?" The topic of our conversation decided to ask, briefly forgetting that we were enemies.

"Well your name is Usopp right?" Luffy asked. "I knew your dad too!" Oh yeah, Usopp's dad was on Shank's crew. "Your dad's name is Yasopp right?" Usopp seemed relatively stunned in a mixture of shock and confusion.

Usopp suddenly let out a sudden cheer before he got up and slid down the cliff's side, where he reached the bottom and ran to Luffy, a big smile on his face. "You're right, my dad's name is Yasopp, but how do you know him?" He asked Luffy.

-GROOOOOOOOOOWWL-

A sudden roar came about that made everyone jump a little. When Luffy let out a soft chuckle while patting his stomach, it was easy to realize what it was. Luffy was hungry.

"While don't we talk about this over some meat!?" Luffy said while walking in my direction. I was wearing a look of defeat as Luffy pass me by, Usopp hot on his trail. I gave a small sniff when Zoro and Nami passed me by. I think Zoro gave me a look with some sort of pity in it, but I couldn't really tell at the moment, as my eyes were raised to the sky.

I sniffled one last time as a single tear of defeat rolled down my eye. Then I glared at the sky above.

"*sigh*. You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

* * *

I quickly caught with the group, and shambled behind them, trying to keep myself upright and not on the ground snoring. While Zoro and Nami stayed mostly silent while looking at the passing sights, Luffy and Usopp were working up a conversation. What it was about was beyond my brain's comprehending at this point.

Once we reached the small village, Usopp had led us into a restaurant with huge sign on it that read 'Meshi'. And since that means food in Japanese, I could only guess that this was some kind of restaurant that was well know for its meat products.

While everyone else ordered other food like meat, bread sticks, liquor, and fruits, I stuck with something simple. A good old pasta dish was good for me. Needed some carbohydrates to wake me up and shit.

"Are you sure you don't want any meat Patrick?" Luffy asked while holding out a chunk of meat on a stick to me. I probably would've taken it…if it weren't for the fact that he had already taken a large bight out of it. "It's really good!"

"Kindly fuck off." I mumbled while twirling the pasta around my fork.

Luffy either didn't here me or just didn't care. Instead, he went back to eating his meat and turned to look at Usopp who was eating some sort of potpie. He began to talk to him about how he met Yasopp and how he was apart of Shanks crew, something that Usopp was ecstatic about.

"I sure am proud of my old man. He left for an adventurous life of a pirate at sea." Usopp, your dad abandoned you for a large mass of salt water. I think you need to get your priorities straight. "He chose a life of real adventure." Yes, over his own flesh and blood son.

"Maybe you can help us?" Nami said with a scamming smile. Well I think it was, my brain wasn't really in the position to be thinking right now.

"Huh? What is it?" Usopp asked confused.

"Do you know anyone who could provide us with a ship, maybe even someone who could know how to sail for that matter?" She asked him.

"Well, it's a pretty small village." He told us. "I don't think we can really help you. Sorry." Welp that wasn't true. Damn, this pasta was pretty fuckin' bland.

"What about that giant mansion at the top of that hill." Zoro pointed out.

Yes. Atop that hill was a large, luxurious mansion that looked to have taken millions in the making. Kaya's house.

"Hey do you know them Usopp?" Nami asked hopefully with hands clasped together. "Surely with all that money they can help us get our boat!" Usopp was had a coating of sweat on his forehead now and looked very nervous.

Fear turned to anger. "Look you! Stay away from there!" He yelled at us while getting out of his seat and putting his hands on the table. We a looked at Usopp in confusion. Well they were, I was pretty much in my own world at this point. Usopp's mouth opened for a moment before quickly snapping shut, sorta' like a fish gasping for air before he backed away from us with a skittish smile. "I'm sorry but I realized that there was something I have to do. Later!" With all that said, he sprinted out the front door.

"Why was he in such a hurry?" Nami questioned, still looking back at the door Usopp had left through.

"Who fucking cares." I mumbled while resting my head on the table. Pasta tasted like shit, so at least I could do is try and save my energy. "Let's just be quiet so I can sleep." Yes. Sleep.

"Not that I don't want to point this out, but you've been extra dickish today." Zoro said. "So what the heck's wrong with you?"

"What wrong with me?" I asked rhetorically while raising my head up to look at him. "Maybe it's the fact that I had absolutely no sleep last night!" I yelled in a whisper, as to not disturb anyone else eating here. Were their other people eating here. "Because of yours and stupid's snoring, I had to stay up the entire night!"

"Oh." Luffy said. The blank face that he made while saying that didn't really help the situation. "Sorry." You little prick… "Want some meat." I didn't answer, but instead shot him a murderous glare before slamming my had back down on the table.

"THE USOPP PIRATES, HAVE ARRIVED!"

_WHAT IS WITH ALL THE FUCKING YELLING!_

I didn't bother to raise my head off the table to see the source of this ruckus. Wasn't it those vegetable trio idiots who followed Usopp. Oh who cares. I heard a stampede of small footsteps run across the floor until they were in front of booth.

"Fess up pirates! What have you done with our beloved captain Usopp!?" The voice asking was high-pitched, squeaky, and getting on my nerves.

"Yeah tell us now!" The other two voices were equally as annoying.

"That sure was some good meat!" Luffy said. "Man I'm stuffed!"

"Meat? What meat?" A voice squeaked in fright. "Th-these pirates are cannibals!" I'm beginning to think that these kids were the idiot vegetable brigade. "W-what have you do-done you savages!" Savages? All show you goddamn savages!

I sat up and glared at the idiot trio with the utmost wrath. I think my excessive exhaustion had made my glare even more frightening because they were completely frozen under my sight. I let out a soft growl a narrowed my eyes further.

"Shut up. Or I eat your souls."

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH! DEMOOOOOOON!"

The three buffoons were squealing like mice caught in a mousetrap. As Luffy and Zoro were laughing at the scene and Nami yelled at me for scaring them, I could only sigh. All I wanted was some peace and quiet, and yet I seemed to make things louder.

It took a good few minutes, but were finally able to calm them the hell down. And though they shot me un-trustful looks from time-to-time, everything was peaceful again. We explained to them what really happened they had become a little more helpful. They even offered to lead us there, an offering we instantly took up.

From afar, the mansion was huge, hell, in the anime it was huge. But in real life, it was fucking massive. We were talking about polished clean marble walls, lush gardens, big windows; it was the personification of wealth. And a giant fence walled it all off from the outside world.

"Wow! This place is huge!" Luffy shouted at the size of it all.

"If the captain ran off at this hour, than this is the place he has to be!" One of the kids said.

"What the heck does he come here for?" Luffy questioned with his arms folded behind his back.

"He comes to lie." The other kid said, this one whose head and hair made him look like a human carrot.

"Lie!? That's terrible!" Nami said in anger.

Another kid, who looked familiarly like a pepper, told us the tail of Kaya and how her parents passed away and she was in a depression, so Usopp came around and made up fake stories to tell her to cheer her up. Well, that was pretty nice of him!

"Great, I think we should ask her for a ship after all!" Luffy shouted while raising his fist.

"You moron. Usopp's the one that makes her feel better, not us." I told him with a shake of my head.

The kids told us how it was impossible to get in because of the guards she has. Well that was to be expected. Hold on wait. Where is Luffy?

"My 'Luffy is gonna do something stupid' senses are tingling." I said. And yeah it earned me some strange looks, but the minute I pointed to Luffy, who clinging to the top of the fence with both hands, they quickly understood.

"Hold on wait Luffy!" Zoro called out to our idiot captain. "Don't do what I think you're gonna' do!" Sadly, it was way too late for that though, as Luffy had already stretched his arms back already. Something that had scared the idiot trio to the core. "No! stop!" We had all ran over to Luffy gripped onto his body.

Sadly for us, it was to late.

"GUM GUM ROCKET!

-WHOOSH-

The next thing I know I was very high in the air, and I was spinning. The speed at which I was rotating made the ground and sky melt together in different colors of blue and green. I think I was screaming; it was hard to tell with such strong winds blowing in my ears. I couldn't tell just how high up I was, but I was sure that I had to be pretty fuckin' far!

-BOOM-

Apparently not.

I had slammed right into a something stomach first. All I knew was that it wasn't the ground because the ground wasn't blue, and frankly, it was way to solid. I let out a soft groan of pain as I stared up dully into the sky. Everything hurt. It felt like I just did a belly flop onto a solid brick wall.

"Luffy. I'm gonna kill you." I managed to mumble out through clenched teeth. I was more thankful that I was alive, and not a red stain on the ground. Thank god for One piece physics. "Note-to-self: Kick Luffy's ass."

My body gave a sudden twitch as I tried to sit up. No response. I did it again, and thankfully my body responded this time. Pushing through the aching pain in my body, I as able to get up into a seated position. And when I looked around, I saw a blue, tiled roof.

_Did I…land on Kaya's roof? _Well, seeing as I could see practically the entire village from my view point, I would have to say yes. _Jesus, I must've been sent flying. _And I would've probably died if I hadn't landed here.

"Ok, up we go." I mumbled to myself while slowly getting to both feet. I had to be careful, one misstep and I was going down faster than a bird with a fear of heights. From my position, I was able to here someone speaking, but it was a little muffled to make out the words correctly. I walked across the roof, careful of each step I took, and made it to the edge.

When I looked over, my eyes glued onto the forms of Nami, Zoro, and Luffy who were accompanied by the idiot trio. A little bit in front of them was Usopp, who was glaring at a man with slicked back, black hair, glasses, and was wearing a fancy suit.

_So that's Kuro. Or Klahadore as he's called now. _Damn. I had to say, he looked just as evil as he did in the anime. But except he was flesh and blood. But seriously, Kuro had to be one of the most evil, heartless son-of-a-bitch in One piece. He was around the level of Crocodile in evilness. _So it seems that I haven't missed anything yet. So that's good. _But how the hell do I get down.

I didn't have to think about getting down, because my course had already been set the moment I tripped and fell off the roof. My decent only lasted for a moment as I slammed back first into the ground with a –thump-. God…my back. Well technically my everything-but god my back!

"Hey Patrick are you ok?" I looked above me to see Zoro. He was looking down at me with moderate concern. My answer was to give him a small groan of pain.

"Hehehehehe! Hey Patrick! What were you doin up there!?" Luffy asked with his usual shit eating grin. It made my blood boil. My current anger, fused together with my already accumulated exhaustion and rage from earlier, turned me into one unhappy sailor.

So without a second's thought, I socked him in the nuts.

Luffy let out a squealing nose before falling over, clenching his manly pride as tears fell from his eyes. I gave him a solid glare before slowly returning to my own feet.

"What…the heck was that for?" Luffy squeaked out while looking up at me.

"For being a god damn idiot and throwing us like that!" I yelled. "I mean really, can you be any more stupid?" I said with a sigh. I went to crack my neck, but the angle at which I turned my head had brought me in eye contact with Kaya. Actually, I never even got a good look at her before up 'till now.

She was fairly slim and pale, but in a gorgeous way. Her hair was short and blond and hat wide, brown eyes. In short, a 10/10 in looks. I'm sure she could give a few models a run for there money. And the fact that Usopp was able to get such a beauty to fall for him was beyond my mental comprehension.

We stared at each other full a moment before she finally spoke. "Who…who are you?" She asked in worry and confusion.

"Just some guy who wants to take a nap." Ok, I could've said something better than that, but it was that was pretty much the truth.

"But how the heck did it take so long for you to fall anyways?" Nami questioned in confusion.

I grumbled a little in annoyance. "Thanks to that idiot, I landed on the roof." I said. "Then I fell from the roof down here." Yet again the physics of this world have saved my life. "So yeah, I'm pretty pissed at Luffy." Everyone was staring at me strangely. Even Luffy, who was still rubbing his jewels.

But when I spotted Kuro, I frowned. _Let's move things along shall we._ I thought while staring him down. His and my eyes were locked on each other; we were in a stare down. _There's no need to let things still when I can move them along. And I know just how to do it. _Welp, time to go to work.

"Well, there's a face I thought I'd never see again." I commented while putting my acting skills to good use. It was surprising how many emotions played on his face, even as it stayed like a stone mask. I could see confusion, shock, and even a little nervousness. "So tell me. How does feel to be alive?" I asked while shifting my weight to my left foot because frankly, it was the only good posture I could take without feeling much pain.

"You seem confused. Come now Mr. 1000 plan-man, do try and keep up with the conversation." His eyes widened in shock. "You need to better tidy up your past Klahadore. Or should I say Kur-." Kuro cut me off.

"Enough!" He said with force. "I don't know who you are, or what you want, but I will not allow scum like you to get anywhere near lady Kaya!" He yelled out with fake passion. "leave this place immediately!"

"Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black." I commented with a smile, which only seemed to aggravate him more. "But what I want to know just how you were able to make it away from the attack?" I wonder just how much I can piss him off before he snaps?

"ENOUGH!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. I could see veins bulging on his forehead as he tried to keep me quiet. If I had grilled him any more than I already had, than his already torn cover would've been ripped to shreds. "I want you all to leave the premises right now at this moment!"

"Well fine then." I turned my head around to peer back at everyone else. They were looking at me strangely. "Come on guys, I don't think we're welcome here anymore." I said while walking in the direction of Kuro. I didn't bother looking behind me to see if they were following me or not, because my attention was still on the dangerous man in front of me.

When I finally crossed Kuro, I felt a hand grasp my wrist. I turned my head to give a soft glare at Kuro as he glared back fiercely. His grip tightened and my eyes narrowed. He wasn't going to try anything here, would he? If he did, that would jeopardize his plans even further.

"I just have one question." His voice was edged and cold as he whispered in my ear. It was like a cold knife digging into my side. Fear, I felt fear. But even though I felt my heart throbbing the way it was, I kept my face like an unchanging mask. I couldn't show weakness, especially in front of this man. "Just who are you?" Oh ho ho! What a classic question to ask at a time like this!

I took a deep breath, thinking over the unlimited answers I could give him.

The first-mate of the Strawhat Pirates…

A Fullbringer…

A…well actually that was just it. Crap, i can't use that line yet. I guess I'll have to think of something else. How about…

"Currently…I am your worst nightmare."

We stared at each other for a little longer, testing each other. I yanked my arm away from his grip, before continuing on with my journey to the front gates.

_I may have made things worse. _Ok yeah, I could have handled that a lot better. Not only did I tip him off that I know who he is, but I made him believe I was a threat. _Damnit all! Why do I always have to push my luck and get so full of myself!? _I guess that was one of my less redeeming qualities, along with being a smartass and know it all. _But really, I should have handled that better!_

Oh well. Nothing I could do now but prepare for the oncoming shitstorm.

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**There it is, the 11th chapter! I am so proud of myself! To think I made it this far gets me all riled up! Besides that, there isn't much to say. I'll be getting the next chapter out as soon as possible, so until then, stay tuned! Kindly, review, favorite and Pm me. That would be nice!**


	12. Chapter 12

**READ THIS!**

**Hello everyone! This is the 12****th**** installment of Faker. Anyways, I plan to make this one shorter sadly, but expect some funny complications along the way! I would also like to know if there are any specific things that you want me to do that I could possibly take into account in the story. If you do, then just leave a review on it, or PM me. Also, I would also want to point out to you that I will try my best to deviate from the plot from time to time before heading back. I don't want this story to be exactly like the other inserts, so I'll try my best.**

**I don't want to keep you from the story, so let's get going.**

**Chapter 12: Brought to slumber. Time to assemble a plan**

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Well this is a fine mess I've gotten everyone into. I probably should apologize, but I don't really feel like it and I'm not very good at it either. When I say 'I'm sorry' it comes out dull and boring. Sorta' like I didn't care. But if the need arises then I guess I'll have to do it.

We had just left Kaya's mansion; Klahadore, or Kuro, had led us out of the main entrance himself, telling us not to ever return. When I had felt eyes glaring into my back, I knew that Kuro was the one glaring at me. He must've been studying me, trying to figure me out.

Now, we were on a dirt path that cut between the forests on this island. We were resting along a fence that had been built along the dirt path resting from the little spat earlier. Zoro and I were seating on the ground while resting out backs on the fence while Nami sat on top of it. The vegetable trio were talking amongst themselves in a huddle, whatever they were saying I could care less about.

Oh yeah, and I was tired as shit and close to losing my FUCKING MIND!

But besides that, I feel like a million bucks!

_This day is hell. _I thought with a grimace. _On top of that, it's hard to think straight. _It probably would have been a better idea to just go shout out who Kuro really was; actually no. _If I did, I could've put Kaya in serious danger. _And everything would've turned to shit from there. _So I guess this is the only plan I can follow while having a decent view on what's to come. _But calling out Kuro may have affected that somewhat.

"My head." I muttered under my breath as I gripped my head. "What I'd give for an Aleve right about now." A fucking arm and a leg that's what.

"What the heck were thinking Patrick!?" Oh shut up Nami! I am in no mood to deal with your growing shitstorm. "If you'd just keep your mouth quiet we'd probably have a ship by now!" She yelled from her spot.

"Oh shut up Nami." I mumbled back at her while putting my head down. The sun was pretty bright.

"No you shut up!" She yelled back before I heard the sound of feet hitting the ground before I felt a hand slap the top of my head. The a grown that was more annoyed than pissed, I looked up to see Nami glaring down at me. "Because of your stupid stunt, we might never get a ship!" She was pissed.

"Nami has a point." Oh not you too Zoro. "Just what was up with that earlier? You were talking like you know that guy." He said.

"That's because I do know him." I said aloud while getting up from my spot. After giving a good stretch I continued on with my explanation. "And because I know that guy, was the reason I wanted to get as far away as possible from him." That had looks of confusion and interest mixed on their face.

"So you do know him. Do you guys have bad history or something?" Nami questioned which I shook my head to.

"No, I don't know him like that." I better clear this up. "I meant I've seen his wanted poster before." That sure got their attention.

"His wanted poster…wait is he a pirate!?" I gave a grunt of confirmation.

"Yeah. His real name is Kuro, a pirate with a bounty of 16,000,000 berris. He got the title of '1,000 plan-man when he was still alive."

"Hold on. I've heard of him!" Nami said with a look of concentration on her face. "Yeah I have…wait, I heard he died?" Well Morgan did a shitty job doing it then, because he's still alive.

"Well apparently not." I said. "But what the real question is why is here?" Well he was obviously trying to kill Kaya and take her fortune, but they don't need to know that bit of info yet. Also, something was…off.

"Where's Luffy?" Our idiot captain was gone. Not a good sign. "Actually, where's Usopp?" Great, people were disappearing left and right.

"Luffy? I think I saw him running after Usopp." Wait, Usopp was running? Where was I for this shit!? I really got to stop spacing out like that.

"I bet he's at his secret spot, right by the shore!" Pepper head said aloud and his two other compatriots nodded in agreement. "He always goes there when he has something to think about. Should we go and check to see?" he asked.

"No, no, no." I said while shaking my head. "Luffy is a capable…man?" I turned to Zoro who just shrugged, equally confused as to what we should classify him under. "I'm sure he's fine." Well unless he fucks shit up, which usually happens. "But while we're on the topic of missing people, where's your onion headed friend?" I can't believe I hadn't noticed at first, but one of the vegetable trio was missing. Where he went was beyond me.

"Now that I think about it, he seems to up and disappear a lot." His name was really Onion? "Then he shows up out of no where all freaked out." Still can't get over the fact a kid's name was Onion. "It's pretty weird actually."

"YEAAAAAAAGGGHH!"

We all turned to look down the dirt path to find Onion. He was screaming and running down the path as fast as his stubby legs could take him. Tears and snot streamed down his face as if he had seen a ghost.

"Guys we got trouble!" He screamed out at us. Well, it was more like his other veggie friends, but still. Once he made up to them he said. "You gotta' listen to me! So nut-job is on his way here and he only walks backwards!"

"You liar."

"IT'S THE TRUTH!" Onion yelled loudly, before turning around to point in the direction he had just come from. "Just look over there if you don't believe me!" And we did. Our heads turned to look down the dirt path and I had to raise an eyebrow at the sight before me.

Because yes, a nut-job doing the moonwalk was currently coming in this direction.

_It's like some Michael Jackson knockoff. _I thought while looking him over. The man sported a blue trench coat, and a big hat of matching color atop a mop of light brown hair. He wore a white shirt under said coat, and green-brown gloves. He also had light brown pants with a black belt and black shoes with big white socks. _But it was said that most characters in One Piece were copied off of real life people._

He moonwalked down the dirt path, and once he was at a close enough distance that we were close to him, he turned around to reveal a skinny pale face, with heart-shaped glasses. On his chin was this weird black stump with red stripes. "So which one of you has the nerve to call me weird?" He asked while switching his legs. "I'm just an average guy." Average. Right. Average for a pirate that is.

_Yeah, there's no doubt about it. _I thought with an inward nod. _This guy is Jango, Kuro's second in command when he was a pirate. _Because no one could be this weird but him.

"Is that so? You look two bricks short of a house." That made sense right?

"Don't be silly." He commented. "I'm just your average day, run-of-the-mill hypnotist." Oh yeah, he was a hypnotist right? But he was a really crappy one too.

"You're a hypnotist. So why don't you show us some of your moves." If I'm lucky, Jango might mess up and put himself to sleep. That would be funny as hell.

"You fool. What makes you think I would want to show off my masterful hypnosis techniques to a bunch of roadside strangers?" Ok, there goes that idea. "Ok, you've convinced me." He said while pulling out a ring with a metal wire with a metal ring attached to the end. So he was going to do it? "You there boy, come here for a moment." Jango said while pointed the spot right in front of him. So he was going to try an hypnotize me? This'll be great.

"Alright." I mumbled while walking over and positioning myself at his designated position. "Let's see you "hypnotize" me." I said sarcastically while giving air quotes.

"I see you don't believe in the mystic powers of hypnotism." Mystic he says. "Well maybe after this, you'll learn not to doubt the powers of the occult." Oh this is gonna' be good. "Now watch the ring closely." He said as it swayed back and forth on the wire.

"Now on the count of Jango you'll be in a deep sleep." He said.

"One.."

_Oh this'll be good…_

"…Two."

_…__I can't wait to see this guy flat on his ass sleeping! It be funny as-_

"…Jango!"

Darkness. I couldn't move. I was asleep.

* * *

I didn't know how long I was asleep, but I knew that it had to have been for a large margin of time though. Also, it seemed that I was having another one of my odd dreams again.

Like I explained before, my dreams ranged in three different categories. First there were lucid dreams, then there were nightmare, and finally there were past memories. And it seemed that this dream was taking on the last category.

The first thing I noticed was how this world colored a bloody red. A sprawling city was set out before me that seemed to have no ending in sight. I was not placed on the ground though, but rather sideways on one of the many towering skyscrapers, the ground off to my left some ways away.

The sky was a blanket of velvet that had been dragged across the city. Black clouds were scattered across it, while an even bigger black moon hung above them all. The sky gave of a red light that shined itself upon everything.

I couldn't move. Even though I was standing here, it was like my body had been encased in stone. Everything was passing by me in a blur, like I was half-awake; it made it hard to concentrate on anything for long. I couldn't speak either, my voice had been locked inside my throat. So all I could do is stare for now.

_Just what is this place? _This has to be the weirdest dream ever. _Well, not the weirdest, but this is definitely up there. _I wonder what I ate to get this kind of dream? _I knew that pasta from earlier was just a little too bland. _Food poisoning could cause the most unusual of trips in the head.

I wanted to continue my thoughts, but my attention was bought out for something else, something that was right before my eyes.

The area of building right in front of me was distorted and twisted. A dark shadow covered the area like a thick fog, making it hard to pick out what was there. Even with the red light shining at it, the mass of shadows just seemed to devour it. But it wasn't hard to see the figure standing right in the center of it.

Yes, there was a person standing right in the center of it.

It was very hard to make out anything else but the humanoid figure, but I think he or she was around my height. I could also make out a pair of feat that were wearing a pair of white sandals with black socks. Besides that, I couldn't make anything else out about the person, whoever they were.

**"****Are you finally awake yet; I think you are but…"** distorted voice questioned before trailing off. The voice was odd, like a high-pitched voice and a low-pitched voice talking in unison. **"Well that doesn't matter, just pay attention." **It commanded before the feet disappeared in a flash of green light only to appear to the right, a trail of green light following it.

**"****Bringer Light," **it started up again. **"It's a**** high-speed technique for Fullbringer to use. It involves pulling on the soul of the ground beneath the feet, usually to increase elasticity, to greatly heighten their jumping capabilities.** **Do you got it?" **The voice sounded snobbish and pride; when it spoke it was like the speaker thought he was better than me. **"I really doubt you'll get it this early on, but you never know.."**

**"Listen carefully. T****he only reason I'm doing this in the first place is because I don't feel like seeing the potential you have go to waste this easily. I bet if you were to get in a fight right now with Kuro you'd die in the first strike," **the voice gave a taunting snort, **"How pathetic."**

What was this person saying? **"Don't think I'm going to help you again like this, if you want to get strong, use your own two feet." **The voice sounded familiar, I didn't know why though.

A sudden pulling sensation on my back quickly caught my attention. I could feel my eyes forcefully shutting themselves.

**"****Oh, your finally leaving," **they stated, **"Well fine then. It's not like I give a damn. Just remember this stupid, try not to die so easily, or we're both dead!" **If the voice was going to say anything else I couldn't here it, I think I was starting to return to the land of the living.

What an interesting dream.

* * *

I always knew that when you slept, it could feel like minutes had gone by in your head when in reality, hours had already passed. I learned that very well after the first few dreams I had.

So when I opened my eyes to see the night sky along with a crescent moon, I realized that I must've slept for hours on end.

It made sense I suppose. With the lack of sleep I had, I was going to have to make up for it sooner or later. Guess that was now. An honestly I felt great! Like a piggy bank filled to the brim with coins!

_If I ever see Jango again…well I won't outright beat the crap out of him during the invasion. _Yeah, that would be a great way to pay him back for sure. With a yawn, I began to sit myself up. Odd, it seemed the ground was hard like rock compared to the soft dirt from earlier.

-BAM-

Sadly, I didn't get to sit up all the way before a foot abruptly slammed into my face.

"MMMMYAAAAAAAGH!" I cried while gripping my face in pain as rolled on the ground. Crap that hurt like a bitch! I hope my nose wasn't broken!

"So you're finally awake you lazy ass!" Nami! You did this! I will kick your ass! "Do you know how tiring it was to rag you all the way to the shores? You're lucky I'm tired or I'd throw your ass in the ocean!" Speaking of the ocean, I bet you could use a swim you sorry bitch.

I sat up while rubbing my thankfully not broken nose. It seemed that what Nami said was true. I was no longer on the dirt and was now at the shore. Nami was right above sending me a harsh glare, while Zoro was standing to the side with a look of annoyance. Luffy on the had a slight look of amusement on his face.

Oh yeah, Usopp was here too. He was sitting on a large rock, looking at the seen in confusion.

"Damn bitch." I cursed under my breath. "What happened." I mumbled out while rubbing my eyes. "I remember being hypnotized by Jango then nothing." Cracking my stiff neck, I looked to everyone for answers. "Well?"

Besides her current anger, it was Nami who told me.

"So let me get this straight…" I started while slowly getting up. "The pirate Kuro is planning on attacking this village along with his crew to kill that girl Kaya, and take her fortune?" I already new that, but it would be good for me to play the idiot for now. "And that hypnotist was apart of his pirate crew too?" I got nods. "So we got to go stop them now. Huh?"

"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Luffy spoke indifferently.

"So what? Do we go warn the town or something?" I asked them. That seemed like a logical thing to do at a time like this. But it wasn't like they would even get there.

Usopp suddenly looked depressed. "Well I tried…but everyone thought I was lying; all I can do is lie." He sighed as he looked down. "There was no way anyone was going to believe a single word I say, why should they?" He said.

Zoro walked forward and leaned in a little with a serious face. "Because what you did was the honest truth." He explained. "It doesn't matter if no one believed you, what you did was the right thing." Usopp still looked depressed though, even with Zoro's words.

"They'll come." I said, getting everyone's attention. "There is no doubt in my mind, that they will come here. Kuro is one of the sickest bastards in the world." He was sick, he made Arlong look petty. "He feels nothing. Not fear, not pride; he's like a machine." I told them. "So when he and his pirates come, this town will be leveled to the ground."

"Yeah, that's true." Usopp agreed. "But what can I do against someone like them?" Usopp's eyebrows knitted together as he frowned. "If I try to warn everyone, they'll just think I'm lying." Everything was quiet for a moment as his lips pulled back to show clenched teeth. He then sat up straight with a raised fist. With a look determination he said, "They think I'm lying and that's all they need to think! I'm gonna stop those pirates at the beach tomorrow no matter what!" He yelled.

"This is all my fault." He told us while bowing his head. "I don't care with the come hit me with brooms and rakes or shoot me with guns!" Tears were pouring from his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. "This is my home and I'm going to protect it!" He yelled proudly.

_Wow, my mental image of Usopp went up by 100%! _And Nami's is in the gutter. _But I already know what happens next. _I looked to Zoro who was looking at Usopp with a newfound respect. I was too.

"You're a hell of a good guy, sending your cronies away so you can take on the enemy along." Zoro told him while his right and rested on the pummel of his swords.

"Just so you know, I get all of the pirate's gold." Nami, you always want gold.

"Guess I'll help too." I answered. "I'd feel bad leaving someone like you alone to face the enemy." Yeah! Lets go kick Kuro's ass so we can get the merry and leave this island for good! I wanna sleep on a real bed.

"So, you want some help?" Luffy asked him while gripping his shoulder.

"You guys…are gonna' really help me?" He asked in surprise, wiping away his tears. "You're really gonna' help me take on all these pirates." He asked in disbelief.

"Over course." I told him. "You said there was gonna' be a bunch of bad guys; I can't exactly leave this island with that on my conscious."

"Besides." Zoro cut in. "You look like your about to piss yourself in fear." Well yeah. But I think that's a normal thing for Usopp.

"Hey! For your information I have nerves of steel!" Usopp yelled while getting up from his spot. "I'm perfectly ok with fighting tons of pirates! I'm captain Usopp, adventurer of the high sees!" He shouted loudly for all to here.

Sadly, his legs were shaking.

He must've caught our eyesight and looked down at his shaking legs. Letting out a soft curse, he began to smack his knees in hopes of getting them under control, but it didn't help in the least. Poor, poor Usopp.

"Ok fine I'm scared!" He yelled at us in anger. "But why shouldn't I be, they're captain Kuro's men for god's sake!" True I guess. "These guys mean business!" He shouted. "So don't pity me! If you are just sticking around because you pity me then just get lost! Don't need you laughing at me!" He told us.

"We're not pitying you." Zoro said, unperturbed by Usopp's yelling fit. "We're helping, because you, are honorable." Yeah, I guess Usopp is honorable when the time called for it, isn't he. "So we'll help you."

"Have some faith in us." I told him with a grin. "Do you really think we would risk our lives just for pity?" I said.

Usopp stared at us in shock before tears gushed forward again from his eyes once again in a miniature flood. He sniffed before rubbing away his tears. Then he lifted his arm up and pointed up into the night sky.

"ALRIGHT YOU GUYS! DON"T WORRY ABOUT A THING! JUST FOLLOW THE GREAT CAPTAIN USOPP!"

"Yeah…no."

"Now way."

"Not a chance."

"HEY I'M THE CAPTAIN HERE!"

Usopp jumped a little a Luffy's peeved outburst. This lead to all of us smirking at the scene. I had to say, this was pretty ridiculous.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked everyone.

"Well…ah." Usopp paused for a moment, rubbing his chin while we waited for just what half-cooked plan was going to pop right out. Then he snapped his fingers.

"Ok! I got it! So…!"

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**Hey there everyone! Sorry if you find this chapter to be a little short and all, but I just really wanted to post something ya' know! Because I not only have to balance out 'Fate/ Too Real' And 'Faker', it makes things a lot harder in the long run. Don't worry. The next chapter will be plenty long with a nice battle sequence, I promise. **

**So if you have anything you want to say, then please tell in reviews, or PM on my profile!**

**Nigris out!**


	13. Chapter 13

**High there everyone I'm back! I apologize for not posting in awhile, but it's here! Anyways, this one will be much longer than the rest. Well I plan on it being longer. I apologize for not making the chapter longer than the others; I hadn't posted anything in some time was all. But the main purpose of this note isn't to apologize, but to tell how I plan on doing a battle sequence, something we haven't seen in a few chapters! It will be mixed side-by-side with comedy and action. Anyways, I hate to keep you waiting, so why don't we move on to the story!**

**Chapter 13: Fight for life! A battle takes place at the slopes!**

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"This is…The dumbest plan I've ever seen."

"Hey! Don't go badmouthing my plan like that! I put a lot of good work into this!"

"I have to agree with Patrick on that, this is a terrible idea."

"Come on guys! Don't be like that!"

"It _is_ a bad plan."

"Yeah. Pretty stupid."

"Oh come on."

I gave a small, sympathetic glance at Usopp, who had fallen down to his knees with a bowed head. I was able to spot tears hitting the ground from my position, but didn't bother to comment on it. Because I was right, this plan was horrible; way too many holes in it for my liking. It took all my strength to not yell at Usopp and point out the obvious flaws in my frustration.

It had been a few hours since our agreement to help Usopp defend his town from Kuro. At the current time, the sun had began to peak over the horizon, alerting us to the fact that it was early morning, and that Kuro and his gang of kitty-themed pirates would be attacking.

So Usopp came up with a plan, which he than ran back to the town as fast as his twig legs could carry him. It wasn't long, but he quickly came back from his run. He was rolling a big, wooden barrel towards us, and from the liquid contents I heard sloshing inside, it was easy to figure out what it was. Didn't even need to rely on my memories of this episode.

Usopp brought the barrel to the midway point of the slope that led to the town. After popping of the cork that kept all the innards from spilling out from its hole, he tipped it over. Gushing forth came oil that washed across the path. In the end, the oil covered a portion of the path in a thick, shining layer that Usopp hoped would stop the enemy pirates in there track. It wouldn't, I knew.

"This is a great plan!" Usopp hollered, finally getting over his short fit of depression. "There's no way they could make it up this slope now!" He said confidently. "All this oil will keep them occupied while we get to work beating the crap out of them!" He looked up, as if he saw an imaginary bubble above his head, depicting just how the fight would go out.

"They'll be to busy slipping and sliding to be able to give a counter attack!" He told us with a smile. "I'll protect this town no matter what it takes." He seemed so confident in himself. That wasn't exactly a bad thing though.

_I almost feel like I'm looking in a mirror. _I thought while staring at Usopp.

In a sense, that was true. Despite our completely different looks, Usopp and me shared quiet a few similar aspects. We weren't outright fighters, we were planners. We took our time, analyzed the battlefield, and made a plan of attack. On top of that we weren't exactly brave people. I may not seem like it, but if there was an enemy that felt I couldn't defeat, I would run. Sadly my big mouth and know-it-all attitude always got in the way.

So even if I really didn't want to admit it, Usopp and I were a lot alike.

_I think I through up a little in my mouth._

Trying to delete my earlier thought process I turned to everyone else. "While I want to congratulate you on creating such a marvelous plan, but we have a bigger problem." I told them.

"Problem?" Nami said in confusion. "What else is there?"

"Well, while Usopp's plan is good, I just wanted to point out to everyone else that there is the other shore that we landed on." I spoke out, clearly pointing out the large problem in Usopp's idea of fortification.

"Oh yeah, you're right." Luffy said.

We all looked to Usopp, who was staring out blanking. I watched as a single drop of sweat rolled down his forehead, and since his head was slightly tilted down, the sweat-drop rolled down the length of his long nose. Once it reached the end, it hung of the tip for a moment before it fell.

"OH CRAP I FORGOOOOOOOOOOOT!"

"YOU MORON!" Nami, Luffy, and Zoro yelled at him in disbelief in _exact _synchronization. Weird. I just shook my head in disbelief. Well in his defense we didn't exactly have a lot of time to plan. But still Usopp, for shame. As an amazing planner myself, I feel shamed.

"But come on guys." Usopp said, trying to calm them. "This has to be the place where they'll attack from. This is where they had there meeting so they'd have to start here, right?" No. "And even if they did, there is no way I'd let them into town!" Usopp stated with folded arms. "I'll use every dirty trick in the book to stop them!" He exclaimed.

"I've got to hand it to ya' Usopp, your really good at fighting dirty!" Luffy complimented, as he sat down and dragged his foot in the oil.

"O-of course I am!" Usopp said with a stutter, probably not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment. "There is no one alive who can best me with a slingshot, or beat in the art of fighting dirty!"

We all gave him a smirk, why I did it I don't know. But the thought of him saying something that ridiculous just sounded funny. Because in reality, that wasn't something you should really be proud of.

Zoro's smile was instantly cut off as he looked out towards the ocean, towards the peaking sun. On his face was the hardened face of a warrior prepared for battle. He glared out there for a moment more before speaking.

"It's almost daybreak…They're coming."

That caught our attention and we looked out towards the ocean. A rather serious atmosphere was put over us. A battle was coming, and frankly I was a little worried.

Besides my newly acquired physical strength from this universe's laws of physics and Ichigo's fullbring, I was screwed. I was slow and frankly, I was weak just, about weaker than everyone excluding Nami and Usopp. And the only power I've awakened so far from my fullbring was its ability to shoot off spiritual disks. If my memory wasn't wrong, I could only shoot off the three disks before I had to recharge, which was bad. Sure, I could probably fight one on one, but against an entire group of battle-hardened pirates.

I may just _die_.

_So this is how Usopp feels. _I thought as my eyes drifted to Usopp, whose knees were shaking. _My legs would be shaking too, but I'm a little too prideful to do look like that._ Yeah, I may act like Usopp, but I sure as hell wouldn't look like him.

So we waited. We stood at our spots, glaring out down at the bottom of the slope in hopes of finding some of Kuro's men. I knew that they were coming from this slope; they were coming from the slope at the…north I think. All I was doing was playing the part of not knowing just what was happening.

But when we reached the 15-minute mark, fear soon devolved into boredom. Luffy had taken a seat on the ground and I had gone to a rock wall and leaned myself against it. Nami, Usopp, and Zoro lost some of there bravado too.

Then, Luffy cracked.

"Where are they?" Luffy sighed out in annoyance while getting up. "I thought they would show up by now."

"Maybe they slept in or something?" Zoro guessed. But it couldn't happen; Kuro would've killed them all for being late.

"No they'll show." Usopp said, having lost some his fear from earlier. He just stood in place waiting for them. "And when they show up, there'll be lots of them." Damn straight! The only thing keeping me remotely calm as I am now was the fact that I knew we were gonna' win.

Then, Nami looked a little surprised. She began to walk closer down before stopping and the edge of the oil trap, both hands held up to her ears.

"Do you here that?" She said, getting confused looks from everyone; I on the other hand was just trying to prepare myself. "I might be hearing things, but it sounds like, battle cries from somewhere." Yes, that would be the Kuro pirates, charging up the other slope to the town. "Yeah, I definitely here battle cries." Nami said sounding very sure of herself.

"Oh no! So they did use the other shore to the north!" Usopp yelled in shock and fear. He was gripping his head, sweat rolling from his brow. I buried that small feeling of saying 'I told you so!' deep inside.

"Great, so we're at the wrong shore!" Zoro said followed by a soft curse.

"Some plan this turned out to be."

"So we're at the wrong shore! That's not good!" Luffy said to Usopp.

"Well this is where they had their little meeting so I just naturally assumed…!" He yelled back as his voice trailed off. He looked very nervous.

"Usopp. How do we get there?" I asked him with a serious tone.

"Just head north! If you run you can make it in 3 minutes!" Ok, three minutes. "The terrain there is almost exactly the same, so all we need to do is stop them at the slope!" He explained in a rushed manor.

"Oh no!" Nami screamed out. What could be wrong with her? "If those filthy pirates are at the north shore than they've already seen our boats!" That didn't matter. We were getting a new ship, the Merry, anyways. "They'll take our precious treasure!" Bitch! Is that all you can think about right now!?

"I'll make it there in 20 seconds!" Luffy yelled while charging ahead. Did that idiot even know where he was going? Probably not.

"H-hey, wait for us!" I yelled at him. Usopp charged after Luffy. I sighed in annoyance before running right after them.

"Ah man! My brilliant oil plan was all for nothing!" Usopp yelled from in front of me.

"That doesn't matter now!" I said catching up and running beside him. "Let's just get to the north shore as soon as possible!"

"R-right!" He answered as we headed to the northern shores.

* * *

It didn't take long to actually get there. Like he said, it only took us a few minutes of running across the cliffs to reach it. Luffy had disappeared, his insane physical strength carrying him there at a faster rate. I could've gone faster too, but Usopp was the one with the directions so I kept my myself right beside him.

Also where were Zoro and Nami? They should've been right behind us right now. Well actually, considering it's Zoro, he'll be running right past…wait, didn't Nami use him to get out of the oil trap because she fell in it? Well Zoro won't be here for some time.

"Hey, are we almost there yet Usopp?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it's right up ahead." He answered while grabbing his slingshot from his bag. I had already grabbed my combat-pass in preparation. "We're here!" Usopp told me. My eyes went over the large rocky walls that parted to form the slope to the northern shores. I could also here yelling coming from the area.

"Let's go!" I yelled while activating my fullbring, the manji-shaped shield popping from it. I ran ahead of him with vigor before coming to a halt at the top. Peering down, I saw a group of men charging up armed to the teeth with swords, axes, and guns. The most prominent feature about them was the black eyeliner and cat ear-like decorations on there heads. Docked on the shore was a large, cat-themed pirate ship, which was no doubt theirs.

"Ok." I mumbled. I took a calming breath as I charged up. I needed total concentration to do this.

"S-so what do we do?" Usopp asked, finally catching up and staying by my side. In his hands was his trusty slingshot.

"We give the first attack." I said, in a rather cool manner. I swung the shield, sending off a spinning disk of destruction at our enemies. Some stopped while others let out a scream of surprise. But it was to late as the spiritual disk made contact, mowing down a good portion of them before dissipating.

With a quick shout, I sent another disk their way. But instead of hitting them like I wanted, it trailed off and smashed into the slope's side. The destructive power behind it was enough to break the wall, sending large chunks of rock down the path.

_Well, not what I had in mind, but it worked. _I thought while staring down at the fallen pirate crew. _And because of the rubble in the way, I blocked off their route. _The chunks of rock were big enough to make a sizable mound in their way.

"Wow! That was amazing!" Usopp said in astonishment.

"Well, I aim to please." I said while taking a dew deep breaths. Strange, I felt tired and out of breath. Odd, I shouldn't be, I was far too physically active to be; running here wasn't exactly exhausting either. "Get ready Usopp, shit's about to go down." I told him.

"Right." He reached into his bag before pulling out a handful of lead balls. Loading one into his slingshot, he aimed at the enemy. "H-hey uh, Patrick, where's Luffy?" Usopp asked.

"Good question. If I had to make a guess, that idiot got lost." Damn you Luffy, why'd you have to get lost at a time like this!

"Lost! But we need his help! There's no way the two can hold off all these guys!" He said in fear. "We'll get crushed!" Yeah, that's for sure.

"Well, the only thing we can do now is hold them off until Either Luffy or Zoro get here." Because there was no way Nami would be much help here.

"Oh crap, what are we gonna' do!" He squealed out quietly.

"Hey! You're one of those two brats from earlier." Someone called out. I looked and saw Jango in the center of his crew. "And you, you're that kid I hypnotized earlier. What are you two doing here?" He question with surprise.

Usopp didn't answer and neither did I. But Usopp took a deep breath, and let out the most ridiculous bluff yet.

"I'M WARNING YOU, TURN BACK NOW! IF YOU DON'T ME AND MY SECOND-IN-COMMAND WILL PUNISH WITH THE FORCE OF A THOUSAND TSUNAMI'S!" But that wasn't all. "AND MY ARMY OF 50,000,000 SUPER SOLDIER PIRATES WILL BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES!"

At this moment I really wished I had some physical object to hit my head upon; possibly a wall or rock. Some hard object in general would do. I didn't exactly enjoy having him call me "Second-in-Command" but frankly I was too embarrassed to even do anything about it.

They were staring at the two, conversing between one another over Usopp's blatant bluff. They obviously didn't believe it- I wouldn't believe it! I mean really, look at Usopp!

"50,000,000! Bullshit!" One minion called out.

"Yeah right! Like we're supposed to believe that!" Another one of Kuro's minions yelled up at us.

"Oh crap! They figured it out!" Usopp, anyone could figure that out! Well, apparently not Luffy because he believes anything.

"What? He's been lying to us this whole time!" And apparently Jango too.

"Captain Jango! Take a look at this!" A minion pirate said coming up to him. "We searched those two other ships and found a whole bunch of treasure!" He said while pointing to our ships, a Kuro lackey was on it, holding up our- Nami's bag of treasure. "It's hard to say how much is in it, but if I had to guess, it's probably around 5,000,000 berris!" He yelled, getting a look of shock from the hypnotist.

"5,000,000 berris." Usopp said in surprise. He then turned to me. "How the heck did you guys get so loaded?"

"There's a big difference wording when it comes to 'Our treasure' and 'Nami's treasure' Usopp." I said while feeling the wait of my pendant on my neck.

Usopp looked a little confused but said nothing. He then gulped before turning back to the pirate crew. And I swear- I swear! What he said next was even dumber then the first.

"I see you have found my loot!" He called out gaining the pirates' attention. "Well you can have it!" He announced.

"And you're just going to let us take it?" A grunt said in confusion.

"That's right!" He replied. "You can have it! Just as long as you turn around and forget all about this place!" Usopp. Just because you say that, doesn't mean they're going to listen. They already have the treasure anyways. On top of that, Nami would beat the living crap out of you if she heard that.

"Boy." Jango said while staring our way through his heart-shaped glasses. "We are pirates, and do you know what we are going to do? We are going to take this treasure and there is nothing you can do about it. And there is no way we are going back until we've got what we came for." Usopp was rather dissuaded by his words; I on the other hand tightened my hand on the combat-pass and readied myself for the battle to come.

The hypnotist pirate than took out that ring of his and began to sway it back and forth. "Alright boys, on the count of 1, 2, Jango, your going to let us by." He commanded. Sadly for him I already new his trick, so I was keeping my eyes anywhere but in his direction.

"It's that strange weapon again." Usopp mumbled.

"Usopp, don't look at the ring, he's a hypnotist." I warned him.

He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "A hypnotist?" He questioned.

"Just don't look at the ring alright." I told him which he replied with a nod.

"Ok. 1…2…Jang-!"

"DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND GIVE MY HARD EARNED TREASURE AWAY!"

-BAM- -BAM-

I wasn't very sure what happened next. First I was standing there next to Usopp, next thing I know, I was on the ground face-first. My vision was swimming and all I could do was give a soft groan of pain. But I was slowly sitting up letting out choked cries of pain that I did my best to keep in.

"OW MY HEEAAAAAD!" Usopp cried out violently in the same position I was. He turned back to yell at whoever had hit us. "WHY THE HECK DID YOU HIT MEEEEE!?" The person didn't answer, but the moment I heard their voice, it wasn't hard to put two-and-two together.

"THAT TREASURE BOAT IS MINE AND IM NOT GOING TO LET A SINGLE ONE OF YOU PIRATES LAY ANY OF YOUR GRUBBY HANDS ON IT! YOU BETTER CLEAR OUT BECAUSE I'M COMING DOWN RIGHT NOW TO GET IT BACK!"

"NAMI YOU BITCH!" I yelled in rage while turning around to look at her, lips pulled back and clenched teeth. She was standing at he top with her wooden staff in hand. Not that this fact mattered really because I was GOING TO BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HER! "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL! WHY DID YOU HIT ME!?"

"WHO SAID YOU CAN GIVE AWAY MY TREAURE! YOU GOT WHAT YOU DESERVE!" She yelled at me.

"IF YOU WANT MONEY SO BAD WHY DON'T YOU WORK AT A WHORE HOUSE LIKE THE MONEY-GRUBBING-BITCH YOU ARE!?" The look of absolute outrage was perfect on her face.

"M-money-grubbing…WHY DON'T YOU COME OVER HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE!" She yelled with the fury of a hundred erupting volcanoes.

"BRING IT BITCH! I'LL TAKE YOUR ASS OUT RIGHT HERE!" I yelled with the rage of a rampaging god.

"Guys…"

"BASTARD!"

"SOULLESS GINGER!"

"Hey guys…"

"DICK HEAD!"

"FATASS!"

"Guys!"

"STUPID ASSHOLE!"

"CUM GUZZLER!"

"GUYS!"

"WHAT!" We both yelled at the same time at Usopp who had flinched back at our glaring eyes. Yet he composed himself and cleared his throat before pointing his finger down at the shores. We looked and saw that the Kuro Pirates had gravitated up the slope in the midst of our little bitching war.

_Damn it all, now's not the time to get distracted. _I thought while trying to shake off the bubbling rage rising in me. _If I don't pay attention, I could get hurt bad. _Or killed; let's hope not. My eyes looked over the situation, studying any information I could get. _It seems that even if they charge on ahead at us, they'll have some trouble getting over that mound of rubble I left. _That misfire was more useful than I thought.

"OK." I said while getting up from my spot on the ground. Looking over to Nami, I did my best to hold in my anger. "Let's put our differences aside for now and worry about the bigger problem." I told her, nodding my head in the direction of our enemy. She gave me a look of disdain but still nodded in agreement.

"Where's Luffy?" She questioned while looking for our idiot captain. "He's a fast runner, I thought he'd be here way ahead of you."

"Well, most likely, he's lost." I said while pinching the bridge of my nose. Why did that idiot have to get lost now of all times. I know in the anime he usually appeared at the end of battle when he's needed most to fight the bad guy; he was the protagonist after all. I thought that it was rather cool when I was watching it on a computer screen, but now that I'm directly in the middle of the danger, my feelings on it changed.

She sighed. "Well that's just great. The only thing that could keep him from a fight is getting lost."

"Meat Nami; let's not forget about meat." I added in.

She either ignored my comment or didn't bother to answer. Instead she was looking down at the group of pirates in frustration. "Well if Luffy is here or not doesn't matter!" She stated while holding her staff and getting into a fighting stance. "All that matters is that I get my treasure back!" It's always money with you isn't it?

"Well…" Usopp stated while stepping backwards. "…I think I'll take command here." After a few more steps, he positioned himself right next to Nami. "I think it's about time you two went down there and kicked all their buts." He told us while pointing at Kuro's men.

"Me!? What about you!" Nami yelled in shock. Yeah, why should I go down there and fight them!? "I can't take on a boat load of viscous pirates by myself! That's suicide!" True, very true.

"What do you think I'm going to do any fighting." Usopp said with shaking legs. "Beneath this hard exterior is a full-fledged coward!" the term "Hard exterior" doesn't really fit well with your name. "I'm so scared I think I'm about to feint!"

"You think you're scared!? I'm so scared that I think I'm about to cry!" Nami yelled back.

"Please, your eyes are completely dry!" Usopp pointed out. "You'll have to do better than that, liars can smell their own."

"That's just your upper-lip!"

"This is ridiculous." I sighed under my breath as I watched them constantly try to out due the other. I didn't know what was stranger, the fact that they were arguing during a battle or that they were trying to argue over who was weaker between them.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? ATTACK ALREADY!"

A rallying war cry sent a shock coursing through up my spine. I turned back to the group of pirates to see them once again charging up the slope in our direction. Hopefully, that rock wall that I had made earlier will stall them long enough.

"Guys! Let's forget about that and get our butts in gear; they're coming." I warned them while preparing to fire another round. What I expected from them was an 'ok' or 'alright', not a hand gripping both of my shoulders.

"It's all up to you now Patrick." Usopp said.

"That's right. We're counting on you." Nami continued on after.

"Oi! I'm not fighting all these guys by myself! That's insane!" I would possibly die! No way in hell I could do this!

"Come on Patrick! Out of all of us here you're the most fighting capable!" I take back what I said earlier! I've seen what Nami can do with that staff, so that means she's the strongest one here right now! She should fight!

The stampeding pirates were still coming forward. They had just reached the rock mound and were doing there best to climb over it. After they got through that, there would be nothing keeping them and the town but our weak retaliation.

Damn it all! I really don't want to do this!

"You guys owe me!" I said while stepping forward. I pumped spiritual energy into my fullbring while bringing my arm back and over my head, similar to how you would pitch a baseball. "Because there is no way I can do this all on my own!" Feeling my spiritual energy reach its peak I swung my, sending a black spiritual disk in hurtling in there direction.

It lowered itself until it hovered forward right above the ground. It continued its course until the spiritual structure smashed right through the rubble and into the pirates. Some of the Kuro pirates went flying back while others simply were mowed down by it. Either way, it was affective.

"Don't think you're getting off that easy!" I roared while tossing another their way. Though it wasn't as on as the last, it was still able to hit the target I wanted as it still crashed into the pirates on the slope.

"And *huff*, here comes another." I muttered while tossing one more. Unlike the other one's I released this one was weaker, only having three arms. It spun completely off course and smashed right from its target and went straight up into the sky where it slowly dissipated into nothingness.

_Holy crap. _I thought while bending over to catch my breath, a thin coating of sweat was on my forehead. I felt really exhausted after throwing those attacks. It was like I just took a mile sprint and decided to do some push-ups right after. _What's happening? Is it because I've been pumping so much spiritual energy into my attacks? _

It was hard grasping the concept of spiritual energy. Though I learned how to control it slightly when I was fighting Mohji, it was still too early to figure out how to fully use it. It wasn't a physical thing I could easily control like grabbing a sword or throwing a ball. It was like controlling your digestive system and telling it when to digest food and when not to. A better example would've been trying to make building blocks out of water.

Plus there were things like emotion you had to take into consideration. Sometimes a character's power was fueled with their emotions, like when Ichigo went berserk on Ulquiorra and went full hollow on his ass. I wasn't like that at all. I was more of realist; burn wood with oxygen you get fire, put water in temperatures of 32 degree Fahrenheit it will freeze. So to have something like this wasn't going to give me any advantage at all.

I knew I couldn't learn something like this easily. I wasn't Ichigo; I didn't have his instinctive nature to learn how to control things. I was an analyzer; things like instinct weren't really my forte. On top of that problem I had about zero combat experience, so basically to sum this all up…

_All I can try to do now is fight through this with powers I can barely control and hope to make it out in mostly one piece._ I thought grimly. This is not a good thing at all. _Damnit! Why out of all the powers did I have to get fullbring? _Sure, I thought the idea of fullbring was good; the ability to manipulate objects to your advantage sounded rather interesting. But it wasn't exactly something easy to learn! Screw the fact that it gave my the advantage of long rage, that does squat in a situation like this! _Why couldn't I get something like a Teigu, or maybe some Vigors and salts from Bioshock Infinite? _If I had those, things would've been a lot easier for me.

"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOTS WAITING FOR!?" I heard Jango yell out at his goons. "ATTACK WHILE THEY'RE DOWN! THE LONGER THIS TAKES THE CLOSER WE COME TO HAVING CAPTAIN KURO TAKE OUR HEADS!"

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!"

Jango's words seemed to motivate his lackeys. I looked up to see the stalled pirates once again at us with renewed Vigor. Damn, I wasn't ready to fire yet.

"Usopp!" I turned around to look at my long-nosed comrade. "I could really use some cover-fire here!" I told him. He seemed to be knocked out of a small trance as he watched the oncoming pirates before nodding.

"Right!" He yelled out while reaching into his bag and pulling out several lead balls, and loading them into his slingshot. Pulling back, he released them, sending them flying at the Kuro pirates. They each hit their mark, taking down four of them.

"Alright." I mumbled while catching my breath. I felt a little better now so I guess it was time to go back at it huh. "Thanks Usopp. Let's just keep at it; ill hit the bigger areas and you hit the smaller areas!" I said earning a nod from him. But before continuing on with our assault he asked something I hadn't thought of.

"What about Nami?"

I took a quick moment to look over my shoulder at Nami with a calculating stare. Was there anything she could do now? She seemed rather nervous and squirmed under my stare, clearly not wanting to go into battle against such a hoard. Sighing, I turned back to Usopp with an answer.

"She's completely useless."

"What do you mean I'm useless!?" I heard her yell with fury from behind us. Not that I was going to bother to turn to give her an answer. I had a giant amount of pirates coming at us and I wasn't going to look away just to talk to her!

While they charged up at us I was busy powering up my own attack. In a flurry of swings, I launched two spinning disks at them. They impacted atop the pirates raising up a cloud of dust that soon dispersed revealing the downed pirates.

_Good, I've gotten at least some control over it. _This time, I was using the same circle idea that I used in my battle with Mohji. I was definitely seeing a small bit of improvement in my control and firing, but still it was lacking in…Something. _Well that doesn't matter. I have control of this, so I guess everything is ok. _I swung my fullbring once again, sending off another. I took a moment to breath, letting Usopp take on any stragglers before getting ready to fire some more.

"We-we're pushing them back!" Usopp's words almost sounded shocked as he kept firing more lead rounds. "We're winning!"

"Looks like it." I commented while firing off two more rounds that flew towards them and smashed into the pirates. "Now if we can just get them to go into a full-on retreat." That would be nice. That way it would make dealing with Kuro easier.

"What do you think you are all doing!?" Jango yelled out at his crewmembers in frustration and worry. "They are nothing more than three annoying brats! Are you really going to let them push you around!?" He didn't get much from his fallen crew except some groans of pain. God we did a number on them. "Fine then, I'll just have to call on someone more capable!" He yelled out. "The sun is rising; and higher it gets the closer we come to captain Kuro taking our heads!" He then took a deep breath.

"COME FORTH! MEOWBAN BROTHERS!"

Once he called out, two figures jumped off from the ship and high off into the air. With an acrobatic flip, the came down, landing right next to their leader in a crouch. Once they stood, I was able to get a clear view of them.

Wow. Words fail to describe…The sheer weirdness of this duo. In all honesty, I was questioning just how large and demented the gene pool was in this world. Actually, I was more curious as to what to beast had decided to fuck each other and give birth to this duo.

Now, I've seen strange people before. There was Mohji and his weird body hair, and I've ventured into the deepest, darkest parts of Wal-Mart and laid witness to all kinds of backwater human rejects. But these two…

The first one, the fat one, was pale and shirtless, showing off his large stomach. He had a face only a mother could love. Literally. His face was a little too wide to be natural and sharp fangs with tiny eyes. He was wearing red pants and a yellow sash, a black hat with cat ears, a cape that looked more like a blanket, and pale blue gloves with claws.

The other was freaky too-maybe a pedophile-I didn't know. He was a lanky freak with a hunched back. His hair, his green hair, parted to the side and curled at the end, with two other parts of hair on the sides of his head, growing downwards in a weird, curly-looking way. And from what it looked like, there were cat ears on his head and he had cat-like eyes. He was wearing a navy blue shirt that seemed a little too tight and light-blue shorts that were a little too short. He had dark-brown gloves with claws growing out the end.

I could only stare at them. I wanted to look away but really. Just what the hell!?

_Just what the hell was Oda snorting and drinking when cooked up these freaks!? _Probably crack, maybe bath salts. Actually, I didn't want to know anymore. Whatever it was, it couldn't be healthy.

"Yes captain? Did you call for us?" The lanky looking one question.

A jingle came from his partner in crime. I realized that there was a giant…Cat-bell tied around his neck. Strange fetishes aside, he spoke next. "Well did you?"

The first one got put his arms up, and got into a cat-like imitation. "Sham!" He cried out.

His brother did the same. "And Buchi!"

"Together we are the Meowban Brothers! At your service!" They finished off in complete synchronization with a bow. They must've practiced this. There was no way that they could do this at the same time so naturally.

_These two are not good. _I completely cursed our luck. I completely forgot about these guys! The Meowban Brothers; the guardians of the ship. These guys were pretty bad news for Zoro, and they are even worse news for us! _These two are too strong for us! _Damn it all to hell! Where were Zoro and Luffy when we need them the most!?

"Sham, Buchi, we must absolutely get up this slope, but as you can see our path is blocked." Jango told them. "If you would be so kid as to clear our path immidietly!" He said while looking back up at us from behind his heart-shaped glasses.

The two freaks looked up at us and let out a squeal, regarding us with fear (Like I would buy that! I've seen they're games) and took a step back. I was charging up my fullbring as fast and strong as possible.

"Who are these weirdoes?" Usopp questioned in confusion. Nami looked just as surprised and confused as him. "Are they really going to fight us?" He mumbled that last part to himself as he watched Buchi and Sham tell Jango how they couldn't fight because we looked too strong. "These guys are a bunch of pansies."

"Yeah. That guy is crying like a baby." I heard Nami say from behind us. I wanted to tell them to not let there guard down around them, but I was a little busy charging up my attack to its fullest.

"Come on captain, please don't send us in!" Sham begged. "They're way to strong for us!" Actually it's the other way around. Doesn't mean I can't catch you off guard.

"Yeah! Way too strong!" His fat brother said by his side. He was hiding under his cape. What terrible acting a lying skills.

"Sham. Just do it already." Jango commanded in slight frustration. He must not want to deal with whatever cruel punishment Kuro would put him through. Sham let out a cry and pleaded not to go but Jango shut him up. "AND HURRY!" That was all it took for Sham to come charging up the slope in a reckless manner, running past his unconscious crewmates.

Swinging his arms around in a wild manner he yelled. "Ah watch out! I'm a crazy monster that'll destroy you all! You better prepare yourself!" Oh yes I will. "I'll destroy you a-!"

"OH GO SCREW YOURSELF!"

I swung my fullbring and sent a spinning disk at him. The look of surprise on his face was worth the exhaustion I felt after. He stopped in his tracks and panicked for a moment, trying to figure out just what he should. He did not have time though, as my attack crashed down right at his feet, sending up a cloud of dust that covered him.

"Brother!" He fat brother Buchi called out in worry. Not that it really mattered, I'm sure Sham was fine. It would take a lot more than that to take him out. Buchi glared up at me with hate. "Damn you bastard!" He cursed at me.

"All is fare in love and war." I spoke up while glaring down at where Sham was with squint eyes. "Oi! You can stop acting now; I already know that you're not unconscious. So you can stop playing dead." I shouted at the dust cloud with annoyance. Sadly I got no response. "Come out here already."

"Hey Patrick." Usopp called from my side. "I'm pretty sure he's unconscious. He's not going to get back up." Oh Usopp, how wrong you are. "You should be-." Usopp stopped for a moment to look at a few of the pirates slowly getting back up. But they were never able to as Usopp quickly launched some lead balls that stuck each of them, making them fall back to the ground. "You should be worrying about the other pirates." He continued.

"Yeah, worry about the others pirates. Those two aren't worth worrying about it!" Nami yelled from behind.

I turned back to look back at her annoyed. "Nami, if you're not fighting than you should have no say into what happens." What has she done exactly? All she did was yell at us to do stuff and hide. She wasn't exactly doing anything useful for us. "Matter-of-fact, why are you still back there? The fight is pretty much over?"

"Yeah but its still could be dangerous." Nami, just grow up.

"Fine then. If you're not going to fight, then stay there." I said before turning back to where Sham was. "But I'll take all your treasure after this is done." That should rile her up a bit.

"No way, that treasure is mine! I stole it fair and square!" She yelled in anger.

"Then get your ass over here before I do!" I yelled back, giving a quick second to turn back to her.

"PATRICK WATCH OUT!"

I heard Usopp warning but it was too late. I was only able to turn my head around and let out a 'What' before something impacted my stomach. I gagged from the oxygen pushed out of my lungs then I felt something hit me on the back of the head. The force was able to throw me forward and down the slope.

I tumbled down the slope before I skid to a stop. Besides the aching pain in my stomach and head, my world was spinning; I felt nauseous too. I tried to feel the combat-pass in my hand, but sadly it seemed I had lost hit because my right hand was surely empty.

_Must've dropped it when whatever hit me well, hit me._ With a groan I blinked away any black spots in my vision and slowly began to push myself off the ground. Once I got to my knees I noticed how my legs had gotten pretty scraped up in my little tumble. _Well, I'm just happy that I didn't break my neck or dislocate my shoulder. _Good job physics of this universe! You saved my ass from peril once again!

"You know, it's rather stupid to look away from your enemies in battle." A rather snake-ish voice said. "And even though you didn't fall for my little rouse, I was still able to get the drop on you." I looked up the slope to see Sham, perfectly unscathed from my attack. He was grinning down at me with a wide smile. "I have to say, I was a little surprised by that last attack, I never would have thought a plack of wood could be so destructive." His comment did not sit well with me, especially when he held up something in his gloved hand.

_Crap! _Yes, in his hands was my combat-pass. He held it by the tips of his fingers; that was rather impressive finger strength. _Crap! Crap! Crap! _This was very, very, bad. This had to be the deepest shit I've ever been in since I've gotten here.

"Well now that you don't have this, I don't have to worry about anymore surprises coming from you." He commented in a rather arrogant fashion before tossing my combat-pass over his shoulder, and onto the ground behind him. "Actually, I bet you're completely useless now."

_Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! _All I could do was curse in my head right now, because I was seriously outmatched against this guy. _What do I do, what do I do!? _Was there even anything I could do? I mean, he was faster than I was, he was physically stronger than I was; judging by those clawed gloves, he sure as hell was armed. Even if I did defeat him, I still had to worry about his brother too! _Damn it, where the hell is Zoro and Luffy!? They should be here right now! _Damn it! Did my presence here really shift what was going to happen this much? _Those two should've appeared when the pirates were able to defeat Nami and Usopp. _I realized while looking at the moslty unconscious crew that was laying around me. _But because we were able to take them down, Jango called out these two. _I looked down in consideration of what that meant.

"Didn't I tell you!? It's stupid to look away from your enemies in battle!" Sham yelled.

-BAM-

I felt his fist impact my face, throwing me off my feat and even further down slope. I slowly picked myself up again, I felt blood drip down my forehead and blood drip from my nose; it was probably broken. Not that mattered; I knew just what deep shit I

_Because I sped up the battle, and defeated the pirates, Jango called out Sham and Buchi before Zoro and Luffy could come here._ I thought. I saw Sham running in my direction and brought myself back to both feet. I brought both arms up to guard my face, both hands balled into fists, and got into a guard reminiscent of a boxer. _Damn, this is what I was afraid of. I got careless, and didn't think about the consequences of what I changed!_

"Do you really plan to try and fight me the way you are!" Sham shouted sinisterly in his charge. He was quickly in front of me, a clawed held up. He swiped up at me and I instinctively crossed both my arms in front of me to block. That didn't turn out well, as his claws sliced through my forearms. I cried out in pain before his fist clocked me across the face. I felt like was going to look consciousness at that point, but knee to my gut brought me right back. "You can barely protect yourself." He cackled out before gripping me by throat and shoving me into the slopes wall.

Blood and spittle dripped from my mouth as I was forced to stare up at and into Shams slitted eyes. He still had on that sinister smile as I felt his grip tighten and his claw-tipped gloves digged into my neck. It was slowly become harder to breath.

"You seem to be a rather stubborn one whom?" The hunched back bastard questioned mockingly. "I like that, it makes it far more fun to see my prey struggle." His grip was tightening and I could no longer breath, all I could produce from my mouth was short gagging sounds. I struggled to get out from beneath his grip, but it was too strong.

_Damn! I have to breath! _Things were starting to swim from the lack of air, and I knew that if I didn't get free soon, I'd probably go unconscious. _I have to get out!_ Sham cackled at my useless display of struggling.

"Do you really think you can do anything now?" Sham questioned as he tightened his grip strengthened again. "I've taken away your weapon, and I've beaten you within an inch of your life. What makes you think you can do anything now?" My eyes erratically went around it their sockets trying to find anything to save myself.

"Just stop struggling, it won't get you anywhere." I spotted his foot and couldn't help but grin, even in the dangerous state I was in right now. "Oh, what's so funny?" He questioned.

I did my best to speak. "I-…t's…funny…you think…I-…'ll die, so…easily."

"Sorry to say but you are." Sham brought his free arm back, the tips of his clawed gloves directed at my neck. "And those, were your lasts words." Well guess what you stupid furry, things are about to change!

With what little strength I had left, I stomped down on his foot. Sham cried out in pain, letting go of my throat, to worry about his new injury. I wanted to take a brake to breath, but I had to do this now before he could get me now. I stepped forward close to him, and swung my arms out at his head. My hands slapped into his ears, and he let out a cry of pain in his discombobulated state.

I slammed a punch into his stomach making him gasp before raising my right fist up and clocking him right in the face. I finally saw blood fly that wasn't mine as Sham fell backwards onto his back from my quick combo.

"Holy crap." I breathed out while holding my side that ached from my hard breathing. "I didn't actually think that would work." I was more surprised I hadn't gone unconscious. I heard Buchi cry out to his brother, but I didn't care, I was way to tired.

"You bastard." The moment I heard Sham's voice growl out at me, I immidietly put some distance between both of us. I looked down at Sham, who was holding his nose, which leaked blood. "That was cheap!"

"Cheap?" I questioned before taking a few breaths. "Like you're one to talk, you faking bastard." Though he was right, but I guess that was just the kind of person I was. "If you want to fight to fight dirty, fine. But just know that you're fighting at a master when it comes to cheap shots." I glared down at him as he sent his own wrathful glare.

We glared at each other some more before Sham began to grin. For why I didn't know, but he quickly got himself up. He raised each claw-tipped gloved hand and bent his knees; it reminded me of a cat ready to pounce.

"You're stronger than I believed." He admitted. "But even if you do have some skill, it still wont save you. I see that in between your little group, you are the most capable when it comes to fight." His grin turned a little savage. "So once I finish you off, there won't be anything stopping us from killing your friends." Yeah, that's true. But there was one crucial part he was missing.

"You assume that we are the only people here stopping you, but you're are wrong." I told him, which seemed to rustle him from his moment of happiness. "There are two others here on this island, and I assure you, they are way stronger the all of us combined." A smile split my face as a small look of shock appeared on his face. "And when they get here, they're going to kick your asses."

Sham growled but made no move to attack. But for some reason strange reason his eyes flickered behind me once or twice before focusing on me.

"You think that'll stop us?" He didn't look worried by the prospect of more enemies at all. Well I suppose he shouldn't really have to be since all I was saying could practically be a hoax. "There is no way. Even if you do somehow defeat us, you'll still have to fight off captain Jango?"

_Hold on wait, captain Jango? Wasn't he supposed to vice-captain, or first mate or whatever it is?_ Besides, they were calling Kuro "Captain Kuro". _So what does that mean? _I thought in confusion. Also, Jango wasn't even that strong. He was more useful for his abilities, not for upfront combat, like a mage or something in a videogame. _Why the heck am I even worrying about this in the first place._

"-so do you really think you can do all that?" Oh crap he was still speaking. I should really stop phasing out like that. It will most likely get me killed in the future.

"Uh…yes?" I blurted out in a rather awkward fashion. Because really, what else could I say.

"Sorry to say this to you, but there isn't anyway you could even do that." He told me while looking up. "Not when your going to crushed like a bug!" He yelled with triumph.

I took me a moment to realize what he meant. Even with the large shadow on top of me that was slowly growing bigger, I needed more confirmation. So when I looked up and saw Buchi descending above me, once leg raised, I knew I was in deep shit.

"Cat-a-Pult Cat-astrophe!" He yelled in his descent. He was like the hydrogen bomb, and if I didn't get out of the way I'd be Hiroshima.

I dived to the left and rolled away when I landed. It was a good thing too, as small chunks of rock soon drizzle on me when Buchi's fat form impacted against the earth. Once the small wave had ceased, I took the chance to look over to Buchi and Sham and blanched at the sight.

Buchi's landing was something. His landing had made a giant crater in the ground!

_If I was under there when he landed. I don't think I'd be in a full piece right now. _Actually, my head would probably be crushed like the rest of my body. _So tubby is a lot faster than he looked in the anime. _That was an important fact to know.

"Damn Buchi! He was able to get away from you at the last second!" Sham said with frustration while moving to his brother's side. "I thought we would've had him this time!"

"He didn't get away from us! He's right over there!" Buchi yelled while turning his head to yell at Sham. "Just make sure to distract him long enough for me to get him this time!"

"Be careful, he may be weak but he knows how to worm his way out of situations." Sham warned him. "We'll get him for sure this time!" Sham said while getting into his fighting stance.

"Yeah! That's for sure!" His brother agreed while getting into his own stance that similar to Sham's. "He isn't getting away!"

"This is not good." I mumbled under my breath. I could barely hold off Sham and his attacks, now I have to fight Buchi also? "I can't do this." There's no way! I am not this strong! It wasn't going to be in like the anime where I say some deep, meaningful crap about my friends and I suddenly get a power-up; there isn't going to be a Deus-ex-machina! "Damn it, what I do?"

Thankfully, in the last little scuffle we had, our positions had changed so that now on the side that led up the slope. So I slowly began to scoot myself backwards.

"Patrick! Behind you!"

Nami's voice was what cut me out from my inner turmoil. I didn't know exactly what she meant by look out, but when I felt some impact against my back at high speeds, I sorta' figured it out. It didn't exactly hurt per se compared to the other more painful things that have happened to me in the past 20 minutes, but it was enough to get a yelp of surprise. Whatever it was, it fell to the ground with a wooden –clank- sound.

_Wait, wooden clank? _I thought with a raised eyebrow. I took a small chance to look behind me (They hadn't attacked me yet for some reason. I don't see why they couldn't. Must've been an anime thing.) and peered down at the ground to stare at something I was very thankful to have right now. _My combat-pass! _Did they throw it? Maybe Usopp shot it with his slingshot? Whatever, it didn't matter. What mattered was that I had it!

I quickly bent down and scooped it up before turning back to Sham and Buchi, I tightened my grip around its edge in hopes of calming myself in fear of them attacking. But no, they didn't. They were just standing there, looking at the situation like it was the most unusual thing ever. For what reason they didn't attack I don't know. Were they really that stupid? I mean, if this was happening in my world, I would've been dead right now.

"You guys said that you would take me down without any problems." I stated while staring at them seriously. I activated my fullbring again, its guard-like shape quickly took shape as my hand was soon bathed in black spiritual energy. "And you were right. The way I was before, you'd probably defeat me without any problem." I held my fullbring out in front of me like the shield it was. "But now that I have this back, things wont go as you want them to."

Sham thought that was funny and barked a laugh at me. "Do you think just because you have some toy that you can now take on both of us?" I didn't answer, instead opting to just stare at them while waiting for any attacks. "You're beaten bloody, and you've just barely been able to escape from us by the hair on your neck; you shouldn't get cocky because you have that thing." He told me with a condescending smirk. He wanted me to cower in fear. There was no way I'd do that.

"You're right about that also, I shouldn't get cocky now that I have this back now." I wasn't going to instantly win now that I have this. "But I…" I paused to take a deep breath. It felt like there were butterflies in my stomach. "I just have a feeling, that I'm going to win." God that sounded stupid, but it was true. With this in my hands, it felt like I could take them down without a problem.

"Things like feelings aren't going to help you win!" Buchi laughed at the stupidity of my words and Sham snickered at his side. I fully agreed with them; there was no way feelings alone were going to help me defeat him. This wasn't some corny, half-assed anime, and I sure as hell wasn't Luffy or Zoro or whoever else was like that. But still…there was just some inkling of a feeling there.

"Enough of this chattering!" Sham said. "Let's go Buchi!"

"Right Sham! Let's do it!" After Buchi voiced his answer, they both jumped towards me, claws raised.

"Pussywillow March!"

Sham and Buchi came down on me ferociously as they both swiped at me with their claws. The onslaughts of attacks were numerous and strong; I was forced to back-pedal up the slope step-by-step, to keep them from breaking through my fullbring's guard. Speaking of my fullbring, it was doing well at taking most of the brunt from their attack negating it. But their claws would sometimes break through it, so I would have to move it in a slight waving motion to smack their attacks away.

_Damn they're good! _They were. Even if these guys were considered weaklings in this universe, they would be consider superhuman in mine. Sham and Buchi's speed and strength were strong compared to a normal human, and they were able to move at extremely high speeds. That was impressive; they probably would have done a lot if they were to ever go to my world. _I just have to hold on long enough until Luffy and Zoro come. _They sure were taking their sweet time.

Charging up my fullbring, I backed off, before launching a disk at them. The were able to dodge at the last moment by separating themselves, letting my attack pass right between them. I fired another at Buchi, who was not able to fully recover yet from his outmaneuvering of my last attack, and the spinning disk of spirit energy crashed into his arm.

"Gyaaa!" He cried out in shock and pain as he was thrown back into the slope's wall. I wanted to pat myself on the back, but the sight of Sham coming from my right and brought up my guard again.

He swiped at my fullbring a few times before jumping into the air and throwing a kick that was aimed to hit the side of my head. Of course I brought my weapon up to block him, but that was a mistake on my part. Sham's foot made contact with one of my fullbring's arms and he kicked off of it and went over my head. I spun around quickly, just in the nick of time too as more claw strikes showered on me.

"You should remember, that you're facing two opponents now!" Sham yelled at me as he continued his assault. I knew that fact very well, but why tell me that…crap!

I had not time to react to the oncoming attack from behind, as I felt as if a cannonball smash into my back. My body was thrown forward, past Sham, and bounced up the slope like a ball. Each rebound was enough to make my mind spin and my body ache; every thing was spinning to me as the blue sky melted together with the gray, rock slopes.

Even though I was thankful that I had somehow managed to keep my grip on the combat-pass, it had deactivated. The fall I just took was also enough to make me not want to get up again. This must've been what my laundry felt like. I shouldn't get up, or I might hurt myself even more, but the fear of being killed by those to freaks was enough was a sufficient fear to way out the smaller fear.

I was able to get to both my hands and knees before a foot came ramming down on my back, shoving me into the hard, rock terrain. I looked up to see that the perpetrator was none other than the fat brother Buchi. He grinned down at me evilly, showing off his large fangs. I felt him increase the pressure on my back and I winced. Damn he was heavy. I wanted to curse at him, maybe spit on him or something, but Sham crouched down right in front of me, so I turned my attention to him.

"You should have realized that that it would end up like this." Sham told me in mocking voice. I glared into his slit pupils, hoping that he could somehow catch fire and die, but nothing. "You got overconfident; you thought that just because you had that piece of wood back, that you'd win." He stopped speaking and slowly ran his clawed glove across my face. The metal was cold and I felt my own blood on them smeared on my cheek. "And where did all that get you? Half dead and currently about to die!" He said with a cackle.

My bravado and inner strength were gone, drifting in the wind, when Sham brought his claw above his head, fingers poised to kill. _Great! Don't tell me I'm going to die here!? _I tried to squirm out from beneath Buchi, but his weight kept me in place. _Damn! Damn! Damn! I gotta' get outa' here! _I was really going to die! What the hell were Nami and Usopp doing!? Why weren't they trying to save me!? _NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! Damn it all! I knew I shouldn't have joining this fucking crew in the first place! _I should've stayed in Shells Town; I should've tried harder to get away from Luffy before I decided to join his crew; I should've tried something! _What the hell was I thinking! I'm a fucking moron! _

This wasn't an anime any more. This wasn't fiction anymore. This was all real, and I was dumb enough to risk my life in such a way. So now I was going to pay for my stupidity with death. I did say I'd probably die within the week, but this was ridiculous!

"Now, goodbye weakling. Have a fun time in the afterlife." Sham said before bringing his claws down to end my life. I shut my eyes tightly, not wanting to see my life end before my eyes.

_SOMEONE! ANYONE! SAVE ME PLEASE!_

"GUM GUM PISTOL!"

And then something happened.

My eyes were still closed, waiting for Sham to end my life. But it never came. First I felt the wait on my back disappear, then I heard Sham and Buchi cry out. This was all fallowed by a big –thud- sound. Whatever happened I didn't know, so I opened my eyes to find out.

The first thing I noticed was that yes, I wasn't dead.

The next was that Sham and Buchi were no longer about to end my life. They were laying a little ways away from my prone form, groaning in pain.

The third and most important was that I was alive. Not dead.

"What?" The word drifted from my mouth like smoke as I stared confused.

"What?" Again I questioned. I looked both left and right, trying to figure out what was going on. After a moment of confusion, I lifted myself up and tried to get into a sitting position. After my body fumbled around for a moment, I was sitting there, staring at mound that was Sham and Buchi. I looked both left and right before turning all the way around to find out what was happening.

And I found it. I found the reason I was alive. I found my Deus ex machina.

Because standing at the top of the hill were both Luffy and Zoro. Luffy was grabbing his right arm's bicep, signifying that he had performed once of his moves to…what, save me? They had saved me?

_They saved me? _I thought, as I saw Luffy and Zoro call out to me. Whatever they were saying was blocked off though as I tried to process this information. _They saved me. I'm alive._ Yes. I was not dead on the ground, a pool of blood forming around my corpse. _I'M ALIVE! _I turned around, gripping my chest as I felt myself hyperventilate. _Holy I thought I was going to die! _Thank god those idiots finally got here! I thought that this was going to be the end!

A shadow cast over me again. I looked up to Zoro, still slightly in a daze. He had his black bandanna tide around his head. We stared at each other for a moment before he finally spoke.

"I heard from both Nami and Usopp that you held off these bastards while we got here." He started off. I didn't answer, but I gave a nod at him. "Thanks, that was brave thing you did there; it takes a lot of courage to do something like that. So thanks." He gave his gratitude before holding his hand out to me, wanting to help me up. I wordlessly took it as I used his arm to bring myself to my feet.

"Hey Patrick!" I looked behind me to see Luffy walking towards us. "Thanks for taking those guys out for us while we were getting here!" He said with that usual smile of his. "You rest up, and we'll take it from here!" I wordlessly nodded to him as he passed me by. Zoro to fallowed after our captain.

_Holy crap. I'm pathetic. _I was really going to abandon them. Sure, I wouldn't have been able to do it, but I would've. _They say that a person's true colors come out right before they die. What does that say about me? _I was going to abandon them and leave them for dead; I was going to leave me own comrades for dead. _God I am pathetic and disgusting. I'm so disgusted with myself! _I almost wanted to vomit!

To tell the truth, before this moment, I couldn't really call Luffy, and Zoro, and Nami my friends. They were more like, acquaintances. People that you just pass by from time-to-time, converse, and just leave. Actually, they were more like, accomplishments, or goals, things I just had to take care of and make sure they happen. As it weird as it sounded, that last explanation made the most sense.

But really, it had only been around a week since I joined. That usually wasn't a long enough time for people to get to know one another and create ties and have friendships. It wasn't a long enough time to bond. I was just using my own knowledge of them to my advantage to get on their good side. Sure I enjoyed some of them, but really, that wasn't enough.

_But now. _I clenched my fists to the point where it hurt._ But now they saved me. Luffy and Zoro dragged my ass away from death and saved me. When I had feelings of abandoning them they had gone and saved my life!_ _I can't let this sit! _I couldn't live with myself if I just sat down here and rested while Zoro and Luffy fought, when I was the one who had feelings of abandoning them. This wasn't about owing them, or pride, or whatever!

_This is about living with myself as a human being._

Because if I didn't do this, I'd be nothing but trash, no better than the scum of this world.

_And this is about helping my friends!_

That's right! These guys were now my friends! Every single one of them! Luffy, and Zoro, and Usopp! Even that bitch Nami! I would even be friends with Sanji even though I don't like his stupid ass! Because frankly, I was being an idiot up 'till now! A faker who was only acting to be their comrade and friend!

"Luffy! Zoro! Wait!" I called out while doing my best to jog to them. God did my body hurt! They stopped to look at me as I finally caught up to them. I took a few breaths because frankly, I was tired as hell. But after that moment was over, I looked them straight in the eyes and told them. "I'm fighting too."

"Can you really fight still?" Luffy asked. His eyes trailed over my bruised body. "You looked pretty messed up."

"…Maybe." I told them truthfully after thinking about it. "Look, it doesn't matter. I doesn't matter if I can or can't fight. What matters is that I have to do this!" I told them with confidence, and seriousness. Because this was something I had to do.

"Alright." Luffy nodded and we continued to walk forward.

I saw that Sham was the first one to get up from the pile and instantly rushed passed Luffy and Zoro and at him. I activated my fullbring and swung at him. The clearly disoriented man didn't see what was coming when it smashed into his face sending him right into the slopes wall. As he groaned in pain from the blow, I walked towards him glaring with disdain with the right side of my mouth pulled back in a half snarl.

"Hey cat freak!" I called at him. Sham got back up, grabbing on to the slopes wall for support. "Didn't I tell you that when my friends get here that they would kick you and your friends ass?" He stared at me then he craned his head to look behind me, a little look of worry was now on his face.

"Well guess what they're here." I told him. "And we are going kick. Your. Ass."

* * *

**Hello! Nigris here! I hope you enjoyed this chapter because this one is the longest chapter so far. I apologize if I hadn't posted anything in awhile. It isn't because of anything important, I'm just lazy. But if you want an excuse, I'm just not good with fight scenes, so I had to work extra hard on this. But to make up for it, I made the chapter extra long. **

**Also, I just wanted to point something out. Usually in an insert fanfic, the main character is someone who isn't afraid to fight, or just accomplishes something good in the beginning, or is just plain old strong. I don't like that. I'm a realist, and I'm sure that if any normal person were put into this, they'd probably act the same way. So that's why I wanted to put that in there.**

**Another thing is Patrick's power level. He will not be fighting on par with a lot of people for a little while. That's why I made him lose to Sham and Buchi the first time. But if you guys have anything else you would like to tell me for power ideas, I'll take them into suggestion.**

**If you guys also see anything wrong with spelling, then please notify me. Sometimes I will miss things that are right in the open so if you guys see anything that I don't then tell me.**

**Well that's all I have to say. Please Review. and favorite this story. Maybe PM me.**

**Whatever. Goodbye!**

**Nigris out!**


	14. Chapter 14

**MOST LIKELY AN IMPORTANT ANOUNCEMENT!**

**Hello everyone, Nigris has returned! So, that was a long chapter last time, I'm, frankly putting it, rather proud of myself for doing it. Sadly, this chapter will not be as long. It **_**will**_** be long, but not as long as the last one. I plan to roll up as much action, comedy, and any other fundamentally important things into this chapter as possible. So I hope you enjoy it!**

**I would like to give thanks to LojikLordC, for making me realize I had to get my shit together and post another chapter.**

**Also, I was ecstatic about the amount of reviews and favorites I've gotten! I thank you all for all the help you given in making this story what it is today! I hope that you will still be following this story as it gets better and better!**

**Another thing, I would like you all to know that if you see anything different with the way this chapter, along with future chapters, is typed that I shall be changing it to spruce up my writing skills. I **_**REALLY**_** want to improve my writing skills, and I think that through this and reading all the fanfiction that I have seen should help.**

**Anyways, let's move on with the story.**

**Chapter 14: A Black Cat comes**

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Y'know, ever since I got here, the One Piece universe that is, things haven't been going my way. Actually, things haven't gone my way at all. If things had gone my way, I wouldn't be here. I would be…wherever I was before I came here because my brain had done broke and now I have amnesia so now I can't FUCKING REMEMBER! So yes, if I had control of everything up to this point, I'd never be in this situation.

But things were going pretty goof right now in my opinion. Well actually, yes and no. I mean, I could think of a plethora of many other ways that this could have gone to make it better. For instance, me not getting my ass handed to me or almost getting killed; I could have done well without that. Or maybe having Luffy and Zoro arrive on time like they did in the anime or manga.

Actually, having them both arrive with me at the time this battle started would've saved me so much pain.

But hey, you can't always get what you want, right? Shit happens.

And as Sham and I stared down one another, him glowering at me from my last unexpected attack, I had the dreaded feeling that things were once again going get out my control once again. I had deviated this fight to far, so whatever happens now, happens. Murphy's law was gonna' have a fucking field day with this. So all I can do now is just try to survive each tidal wave of insanity without drowning.

"Didn't you learn your lesson from last time?" Yes Sham I did. Now I'm gonna use it to kick your ass. "You're just a weakling, there is no way you could defeat someone like me with your skills!" Eh, maybe. "You nearly died the last time, what makes you think you can fight me again, and come out on top?" Well that was a good question. Why did I think that?

"'Cuz my captain is here," I finally said. "I told him that I would kick your ass, and I'd feel pretty stupid if I lost to freaky, pedophile like you." That last comment seemed to hit a nerve. "So can I kick your ass? Well, let's find out." I told him while preparing for whatever attack he might throw my way.

Sham let out a short chuckle before pouncing at me. Both of his claws swiped at me, but they were met with my fullbring. "You don't have a chance in hell at defeating me! Let me show you why!" He grunted out as we both did out best to overpower each other.

I decided against speaking anymore and focused more on just defeating this asshole. I took a deep breath before shoving him forward. Sham reacted quickly by hopping backwards like an acrobat. His feet landed on the slopes wall and he pushed off, coming for me again, with his leg high up in a kicking position.

I guarded with my Fullbring, letting it take the full brunt of his assault, but he wasn't done. The instant that Sham's foot made contact with my Fullbring, he kicked off of it, and he flew high above me. But that didn't last for long as gravity took control and he was brought back down to earth.

_I ain't having this. _I mentally yelled while gripping my wrist with my left arm and quickly charged up. _But you can have this in return! _Finally done, I launched a four-pronged propeller at him. Sadly for Sham, who was still in mid-air, the chances of him dodging were already out the window.

I watched with glee as Sham was pretty much hit point-blank with my spiraling disk of spirit energy that carried him up higher into the sky. The construct of spiritual energy quickly dissipated leaving Sham without any form of propulsion, so that only left gravity to once again bring him back down to earth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Sham screamed in terror as he fell back down, his limbs flailing around for something to grab onto. Sadly no such thing would appear, so the pedophile crashed right back down onto the ground on either side of the slope. And even though I had lost sight of him because of the difference in heights, I had heard a large, meaty –thump-.

"Yuuuuuuugh." I let out that sound while staring up at where Sham fell while making a look of pain. Holy crap that must've hurt. I'm sure that any _normal_ human would've died from that height! But Sham wasn't really _normal _so he was probably alive; I didn't know how to feel about that thought, but whatever. I looked over to Zoro and Luffy. "I wonder how Luffy and Zoro are…doing." My words died in my mouth as I looked over. Damn.

The two powerhouses of our crew were standing over a very unconscious and beat-up Buchi. Bruises and welts covered his entire body, and there was a large cross-shaped cut going across his large gut that was gushing blood. Was he dead; I will keep that labeled under maybe, as most villains in One Piece tend not to die. Well not including Enel…Eneru…whatever the fuck his name was because I couldn't remember since the manga and anime completely botched his name sometimes! But yeah, whatever.

_Well, this went by rather fast. _I thought to myself. _I thought our little skirmish would've lasted a little longer than this. _Yeah. I mean, after Luffy and Zoro got here, things got a whole lot easier! _But I suppose that makes sense now that I think about it. _There was no way for Buchi to fight of both Luffy and Zoro at the same time, I suppose that's a reason why Oda made it so Luffy would fall asleep and get incapacitated.

And as for Sham…_Well, he didn't really ever get hit by my Fullbring's attack. _He did dodge it, right? _So I guess that he never really took it…so he was never really dealt damage by until now. _Or he did, and the damage I'd given him until now was strong enough to defeat him. _I highly doubt that part. _

Damn. Deus ex Machinas were the shit.

"Well, that's over. Now all we have to do is beat the big-bad-boss and get out of here." I told myself while I deactivated my fullbring. I then limped over to my crewmembers; damn I think I twisted my ankle! "Well, it sure looks like you guys took care of that fat bastard." I said while looking down at the beat up Buchi.

"Yeah, this guy was pretty weak." Luffy commented while giving Buchi a kick to the side. "You sure that these guys gave you trouble?"

"Oi. It ain't easy fighting off a whole pirate crew and two of their strongest guys!" I said, finally annoyed. "Actually, where they hell were you guys anyway?" Seriously. Where were these meat heads? They should not have gotten lost on this island for so long!

"Hey it isn't my fault!" Luffy defended himself. "Usopp never told me which way north is!" Note-to-self: Teach Luffy where the sun rises and sets. Maybe add in Zoro also, though I doubt it will help in the slightest. "How am I supposed to know which way north is out here?" Gee I don't know? Common sense maybe? Oh I'm sorry, you don't have that!

"And what about you?" I asked Zoro. Of course I already knew the answer, whichever one he was going to say.

"Nami happened."

"Say no more."

_Guess I was right. _Nami did have a hand in Zoro getting here late. _The other reason was simply him getting lost, which still boggles my mind even today. _Seriously, how can someone have such terrible directional skills? Sure I could live with it when he was nothing more than a 2D drawing, but now he was a living person! _Is it maternal? _Damn you Zoro's mother for passing such a useless gene to him! Think of all the times that Zoro could've actually learned left from right!

I would've liked to continue that train of thought, but something behind Luffy and Zoro, meaning Jango, had caught my attention. And what he was doing sent shivers dashing up my spine.

"Guys, I think we may have a problem." I warned while pointing down at the shore behind them. They both gave a hum of confusion before turning down to look.

Jango was there, and surrounding him in a circle were the remnants of his tattered crew. And now he was swinging his ring back and forth. Crap, we were so boned. Well boned-ish would be a much more accurate word since we now had Luffy and Zoro.

"We no longer have anymore time to lollygag." Jango announced to his crew. "If we do not defeat them soon, Kuro will have our heads hanging on his wall. Therefore, if our enemy is strong, then we must become stronger than them!" Ah crap! "Look deep into this ring, then I will count to one, two, Jango!"

"After that, you will begin to grow stronger, your wounds will heal; you will grow stronger still!" As I listened on, I couldn't help but feel worried about this situation. This was the part where he hypnotizes his crew to make them stronger, wasn't this suppose to happen earlier.

"What's that weirdo doing? It looks pretty weird." Luffy commented with a raised eyebrow.

"I think he's going to use his hypnotism." Nami commented as she walked to our side. Usopp trailed after her in his usual meek fashion. "He's trying to convince them that they're stronger than they are; like that'll work." Nami explained to us.

"Are you sure Nami?" Usopp questioned while. "I mean, didn't you say that it worked on Patrick yesterday?"

"Shut up Usopp." I told him. God that was embarrassing.

"Stronger. Stronger!" Jango yelled out.

"ONE…TWO…JANGO!"

First, there was only a silence that drifted on for a few moments.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHH!"

Then came a tidal wave of roars that came crashing into my eardrums.

I jumped a little as the enemy pirates gave a loud battle cry. They roared and cheered, raising their swords, axes, and other armaments above their heads. Their cries were for blood. The pirate's eyes were all blank while muscles and veins bulged on their bodies. Well damn…I done fucked up and actually let that happened. Uh oh.

Then, one of the hypnotically induced pirates ran up to the cliff and without any prior warning, punched it with his bear hands.

-KABOOM-

I swear, that I may have peed my pants a little. Don't know. I was to busy watching this guy punch off a piece of THE FUCKING CLIFF! It crashed onto the ground stirring of a large dust cloud, but that didn't matter to them, as this only pumped the pirates up even more, making them more rowdy than ever.

_Dammit why the hell didn't I stop him!? _ I cried it in my head. Seriously, why didn't I do it? Was I entranced or something? What the hell!

"Holy crap! That one guy just destroyed part of that cliff!" Yeah! I see that Zoro! I fucking see that! "Now that's what I call power!"

"That worked!? I always thought hypnotizing people was just a bunch of crap!" Nami yelled in shock.

"Well apparently not!" I yelled. I was 100% done with this bull! There was no way I was fighting them!

"That was only one of them! Just imagine what the whole crew could do!" Usopp yelled with shaking knees.

"Now go! Take down any fool that tries to get in your way!" Jango ordered.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

That was all the raving pirates needed before they charged at us like wild animals coming for their prey. I was rather off-put by their ravenous attitude, and frankly, I couldn't find it in me to move my legs.

"RU-HU-HU-HUN AWAAAAAAY!"

But it seemed Usopp's fight-or-flight instinct had already kicked in because he was already running up the hill as fast as his scrawny legs could take him. Nami soon followed after our cowardly sniper leaving only Luffy, Zoro, and I to fend off the raging wave of enemies.

"Great! Just great!" I yelled in terror while activating my only defense

"Patrick, Luffy! We'll take it from here!" Zoro said while taking out one of his swords. I gave a quick nod of agreement and got into a throwing position.

Luffy was oddly quiet, which was a first for someone of his character. The rim of his strawhat

"Alright Luffy, what do we do?" I questioned while keeping my eyes on our oncoming opponents. Yet, I was given no answer of what type of action I should take. "Oi, Luffy! What do we do?" I called for him again, but still no answer. What the W.T.F. is he doing!?

"Hey, Luffy!" Zoro called out while grabbing his shoulder and shaking him. "Wake up, what the hell are you doing!?" Even as Zoro shook him, Luffy gave no response. It was almost like he was in…trance…oh.

_I completely forgot about that part. _I thought, remembering just now that Luffy also got hypnotized as along with the Kuro pirates. _Damn amnesia! Stop being so selective on what I forget and remember! _I looked over to Luffy who was now gritting his teeth a letting out a soft growl.

And then he screamed. Like really loud.

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!"

Luffy through his head back, and raised both arms above his head in his hypnotically induced rage. As he roared like an animal for a second, white eyed with puppy red veins in them, he suddenly took off, sprinting towards our enemy.

"Don't tell me Luffy got hypnotized by that bastard too!" Ok Zoro. My lips are sealed.

"GUUUUUUUUUUUUM! GUUUUUUUUUUUUM!" Luffy roared while throwing punches forward. Those relentless punches soon began to become faster and my eyes couldn't keep track of them as they blurred. Soon I saw not two arms, but a storm of them. Luffy's rubbery arms stretched forward like an oncoming wave. "GATLING!"

Those pirates were damned the moment they came charging at us. The stampeding group did either two things when they saw my now psycho captain coming at them. They either A): Tried to stop and get out of the way. Or B): Just went with it, and kept going forward. Either way, they were screwed the moment they were screwed.

-BAM- -BAM- -POW-

They stood no chance against Luffy's onslaught and were taken down accordingly. His fists smashed into the pirates, blowing them away in the opposite direction with cries of pain and agony escaping from their mouths.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Luffy didn't stop there. In his uncontrolled state, he sprinted forward. The few pirates that hadn't been mowed down quickly squealed like little bitches and soon began to run in the opposite direction. Damn Luffy you scary!

Anyways, Luffy didn't care about them at all; he ran passed the retreating pirates without a single care for them. He ran passed Jango, who flinched a little, before he kept on running down the shores.

"Where's he going?" Zoro asked in his confusion.

"Does it really matter? Luffy's wrecking shop!" I replied, quiet happy I wouldn't have to fight the entire group of hypnotized pirates.

Luffy ran up to the Kuro Pirate's ship and rapped his hands around the stempost, almost like he was trying to hug a massive tree. And then, with a mighty roar, he began to pull on it!

-KR-A-KRACK-

A loud sound of wood splintering was heard, and I saw cracks spread across the ship's front, and I watched as the stempost come loose. And still he pulled more, making the ship groan more.

_Holy crap! _I thought, rather surprised. _I always knew he had freakish strength but…_Yet again, I would like to point out the large difference in viewing something that is a 2D drawing and comparing it to actual real life.

"That's right! Take it down!" I heard Nami say from behind us. Dammit Nami! Moral support isn't going to jack right now! Both you and Usopp can come back up here and do something, or stay back there and twiddle your thumbs!

Luffy gave another roar, and the stempost answered with another loud cracking of wood. It wobbled and was put up little resistance to Luffy strength. Finally, with another pull, there was a loud –crack- as the stempost detached from the ship.

"Well, that's something." I mumbled beneath my breath at the sight. Zoro could only gape at the sight, not really believing what he was seeing. I wouldn't either, but I had quickly realized that this universe enjoyed fucking the laws of physics over and ass raping it.

Luffy slowly turned around; each step was heavy from the large structure he was now carrying. A look of animalistic rage was plastered on his face, like some wild beast. He then began to slowly walk back in the direction he just came, or just towards the pirates, which I was sure Luffy was planning on crushing with his new makeshift weapon.

"RUN AWAY!" One of them screamed in terror! "HE'S GONNA' CRUSH US!" That got all of their attentions, and soon the pirates were running back up towards the slopes in hopes of getting away from our berserk captain.

"CAPTAIN DO SOMETHING!" One of them pleaded to Jango, who had finally snapped out of his feeling of shock. He quickly pulled out his ring again, and swung it back and forth.

"ONE-TWO-JANGO-YOU-WILL-FALL-ASLEEP!"

_This isn't good. _I thought while watching Jango prepare to put my captain to sleep. _I'd better take care of this. _I quickly began to charge up for an attack.

"ONE…TWO…JA-!" The poor hypnotist never even got to finish his sentence before I sent a propeller of spirit energy spinning his way. Even though he saw my incoming attack and dived out of the way of the spiritual construct, this was enough to cause Jango to stop his incantation.

_Good_! I thought to myself reassured. _Now nothing can get in Luffy's way of destroying these guys! _Honestly, I was a little unsure if this plan was a good one, but now wasn't really the time to be dabbling on the smaller things. Now was a time to be taking care of these guys so that we'll be ready for Kuro. _Now go wreck those guys Luffy! Yes!_ _Rampage to your heart's content!_

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAARAAAAAAAAH!" Luffy roared while continuing forward towards his target. Jango had the right mind to crawl out of the way of the delusional rubber-man as he trudged forward with the stempost held overhead. Each of Luffy's steps left deep footprints in the ground that trailed in his wake.

"Way to go Luffy!" I heard Usopp say from behind me. I looked to see that he and Nami had come back from behind, seeing that the danger of being harmed was gone. "Kick their buts!" I'm sure, even if Luffy wasn't hypnotized, that your words would've had zero effect.

"Hey, shouldn't we do something about the pirates?" Zoro asked. I turned to him asked why. "Because of Luffy's little stunt, they're coming back up this way." Well, that isn't good.

"Uh oh." I voiced my agreement in the best way possible while watching the retreating pirates coming this way. Well they probably weren't going to attack us, just get away from the terror that was Luffy. So what should be done about this?

Without a second thought, I tossed a propeller of spirit energy at them.

They never eve got the chance to stop before my attack spun at them, and smacked right into the ground in front of them. I heard the pirates cry out as a large dust cloud rose up from impact.

"That should do it." I said while taking a second to look at Zoro. He looked a little bit both of surprised and happy with the results. Then his head slowly shifted, and he looked upwards. Zoro's next words confused me.

"Run!"

I suddenly watched as Zoro legged it in the opposite direction, a panicked look on his face. What was that all about? It was rather out of character of him; it was out of character of how I saw him.

"Huh?" I breathed out. Odd, there was a shadow on top of me. A cloud passing overhead maybe? But why was it getting bigger? I looked up. "What the heeeeellloooww…" Any words that had escaped my mouth were instantly stopped as a very large, and very recognizable object caught my eyes.

Yes: Luffy had thrown the stempost.

Yes: Luffy had thrown the stempost and I was in danger of being crushed into paste.

_HOLY SHIT! _Was what I meant to say, but what came out was a high-pitched, fearful scream as I did my best to run backwards. But I utterly failed and clumsily tripped over my two feet, throwing me onto me rear-end. So all that was left for me to do was scream while staring up at the falling ship debris as it fell.

-BOOM-

The massive piece of wood feel and when it did, a massive cloud of dust was sent blasted up. As for me, I couldn't see a thing as my sight had been obstructed by said dust cloud, so the only action I was capable of performing now was simply sitting on my ass and coughing out as much dust from my lungs as possible.

"Holy – *cough* – crap!" I managed to say in between gasping for oxygen. The initial shock of what just happened had wore off me, and now all I want to do is curse out Luffy. I was currently covered in dust and small pieces or rubble. My spiky hair was now matted with sweat and dust and frankly, I was not very happy. "Dam – *cough* – *cough* – Luffy! What – *cough* – the hell were you thinking!?"

I swiped my hand at the pea soup cloud of dust as it began to clear up. And the moment I was actually able to see the space in front of my face, I instantly felt a little relieved. That feeling was quickly taken back and substituted for double dosage of shock and fear as I found a giant cat face inches from my face.

"FUCKING SHIT FUCK!" I cursed while instantly backtracking away from said cat head. It took me a second to realize before my mind understood the fact that it was the recently destroyed ship's figurehead. I stared at it for a little bit before letting out a tired sigh. "God damn this all." I breathed out with my sigh.

More dust cleared up and I could finally see more of the large construction. The stempost had landed almost perfect on the slope.. The back part of it had been caught on the slope's wall and stuck there, leaving the rest to dangle and fall in the awkward position it was in now.

As for the pirates, they had taken the full brunt of it all. They laid on the ground, groaning or possibly unconscious. A few had been caught under it and had been crushed. I still didn't know if they were dead or not; this was One Piece after all, so the laws of physics were a little demented.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit! _I cursed in my head while getting up and patting off the layer of accumulated dust. _This freaking sucks! _Where the hell is Kuro? He should be here by now! _What, did he decided to take a fucking detour or something!? _What? He stop at Starbucks for a fucking coffee!?_ Can't he just come here so Luffy can cram his foot up his ass and we can leave!?_

Seriously, I am close to having an aneurism! These two days we've spent on this island have been shit! I just want to go and leave this place the hell aloooooone.

Seeing as I was currently empty handed, I began to look for my Combat-pass (Must've fallen out of my hand). I quickly spotted it a few feet away from where I had fallen and quickly snatched it up before jamming it in my pocket. After that moment, I decided to take just a good look at myself.

"Yep, I'm going to need a new pair clothing." That was an underestimate. My pants and shirt were torn and sticky with blood. Bruises and cuts littered my body, rivulets of blood dripping from them. I brought my hand to my face and delicately brushed my finger against my cheek. I quickly regretted it and pulled it back with a hiss; damn that was swollen. "Damn this all."

Whatever; fuck this. I soon began to walk back up the slope to where Nami, Usopp, and Zoro had retreated. Usopp walked up to me first.

"Hey are you alright?" He asked with concern. "I almost thought you got crushed for a second."

"Well seeing as I haven't shit my pants yet, than yes I am fucking _wonderful_." I answered with so much sarcasm that my voice literally oozed with it. "I mean holy fucking crap." I mumbled beneath my breath.

I turned back to look at the sheer destruction of it all, my eyes relaying to my brain the sight before me. The Kuro Pirates had been trashed. There ship was broken, their men had been beaten within an inch of their lives; even their best fighters had been taken down.

I felt a bubble of pride at that last fact. I had been able to defeat one of stronger enemies in this arc! Sure it wasn't all by myself at first, but I was quickly able to do him in at the end of it. God I'm amazing! Well, not Luffy or Zoro amazing, but still amazing!

"So, where's Luffy?" I asked them. Zoro was quick to respond by simply pointing out at the beach. I followed where he pointed at and quickly spotted Jango being chased after a still rampaging Luffy, the latter having a large rock raised above his head. "Oh."

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Luffy roared while tossing it, making it sale right passed the hypnotist's head.

"SOMEBODY SAVE MEEEEEEEE!" Jango pleaded, his legs taking him as fast as physically possible. Damn, I almost feel bad. And if it weren't for the fact that he and his crew hadn't tried to kill us and worked under Kuro and stuff, I might've wanted to save him. "SOMEONE STOP THIS INFERNAL MONSTER!"

_I promised I wouldn't kill him, but I didn't say anything about saving him from Luffy. _I just remembered that I promised not to kill him for helping me get some sleep. _Must've forgotten about it while I was fighting._

"Should we, um, do something about that?" Usopp questioned hesitantly, probably not very sure of what to make of the scene.

"No, let the bastard suffer." Wow Nami, harsh. Well I don't expect anything less from an ice queen bitch like you.

"So now what? Did we win or something?" Usopp once again asked again.

"No." I answered while interlocking my fingers and putting them above my head to stretch. I felt bones pop in my back. Ah, sweet relief. "We still have to take care of Kuro, wherever he is." That's just it, where the hell is he? Shouldn't he have arrived by now?

"I wonder where he is?" Nami questioned while framing her thumb and pointer finger on her chin. "You'd think the boss of all the bad guys would at least be here." I know. Where the heck is he? Let's get Luffy to beat his ass so we can go. Please.

"Maybe he high-tailed it or something?" Usopp put out his idea. "Maybe he saw us taking down all his goons and ran away." Usopp's voice sounded a bit prideful. It was as if he thought he was the one who did it. Little turd.

"There's no way." I told him while still trying to ignore Jango's cries and yelps. "Kuro may play dirty, but he isn't a coward. From what I heard of him, he rather kill than run from a fight." That was true. That cruel bastard wouldn't run from this. He would come here. No matter how much of the plot I messed up here, he'd come.

"Well, if you wanna' know you can ask him yourself." Zoro said, his voice now had an edge to it, and I completely knew what was happening once he pulled out two swords. I looked back at the destruction, quickly taking out my Combat-pass, looking for the mastermind behind this all.

There was Kuro, right out in the middle of the mess. Somehow, without any of us knowing, he had made it right by us. He stood atop the wreckage of his ship's stempost, his back toward us as he looked up out in the direction of the beach. A soft gust of wind blew causing his undone butler jacket to flutter slightly. Gripped in his right hand was a black, leather case.

I leveled a soft glare in his direction. Usopp had let out a high-pitched gasp while Zoro got ready if he decided to attack. So now the fight really starts.

Either Kuro hadn't seen us, or he didn't care about our very existence itself. I didn't care which one it was, as long as he didn't come after us, I'd be happy. He was standing there like a statue, completely unmoving. Whatever facial expressions he was making were unknown to me, but I had a good idea.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!"

He had to have been absolutely enraged.

My Fullbring was quickly activated and ready for whatever move Kuro was going to make. Because now that he's finally here, things were going to get messy, I just knew it. And the worse thing about this situation was I didn't know how!

But I knew one thing though. Shit was about to get real.

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**Welp, there you go! Chapter 14 is done; completed for your enjoyment. If you didn't enjoy it, the screw you, I put a lot of work this chapter! Anyways, I would like to apologize about now being able to post any chapters any time sooner. The evil known as, procrastination, school, and reality had me in a bind, so it took some time.**

**I had first thought about ending this entire arc in this chapter and the next, but then I realized that it might've taken too long for me to finish. It was also thanks to my latest review, by ****LojikLordC, that me made me realize that I have to get the next chapter out pronto! So if you want to thank anyone for this chapter, thank him!**

**So anyways, I will have the next chapter out, whenever that happens. It won't be long, maybe, but I will get it out! I will also be moving on to the next arc after the next two chapters, so you guys don't get board.**

**Like, subscribe, review, favorite, PM me, or whatever you guys do. Just do it! So bye bye! Nigris out.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Heya! Nigris reportin' in for the next chapter! Sure has been a long time since my last post, so sorry! I've been busy with shit, but since school is done, with for now, and I've pretty much got nothing else to do, I was able to finish this up!**

**Everyone seemed to enjoy the last chapter, and I think that I made it rather well, considering I was pretty much pulling it right out of my ass as it went along. But y'know, whatever. So be prepared for **

**whatever crap that I put into this chapter, because it's gonna' be good!**

**Anyways, I'm really happy about how good my fanfic is doing! I mean, my first fanfic I posted was ok, but it didn't do this good! In fact, it was just a half-assed bleach insert fanfic that never really got off the ground running. I stopped it because frankly, it was practically like the rest.**

**But enough about that, let's move on with this story. This will, possibly, be the second-to-last chapter of this arc. I plannin' on finishing this off in two chapters. Because frankly, I think this has gone on long enough! I need to move the fuck on to Sanji and shit!**

**So yeah, let's get on with it! I wanna' get to the next chapter!**

**WARNING: IF THERE ARE ANY DIFFERENCES IN THE WAY I RIGHT, DO NOT WORRY! AS I'VE SAID IN THE LAST CHAPTER, I'M TRYING NEW THINGS OUT!**

**ALSO! REMEMBER TO LEAVE COMMENTS GUYS! PLEASE! I ENJOY READING EACH ONE OF THEM!**

**Chapter 15: The Unexpected**

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Well, well, well! It seems the final boss has come at last! As nervous as I was, I was more than ready to have this cat bastard get his ass handed to him by Luffy so we can get the fuck outa' here, because I sure as hell wasn't going to do it! Nah-ah, no way! If I could barely take on Buchi and Sham, there wasn't a fleeting chance in Hell I could take him on.

I mean compared to the many OC's in all the Self-Insert fanfics I've read in my life, I was shit. They were all capable of a lot more than I can. Whether it was controlling lightning, summoning demons, or hell, turning your arm into a bazooka to fire off energy blasts, they were all very capable people who could do a fuckton of things and be badass in general.

And then there was me.

A half-assed fighter who could fire off supernatural propellers from a piece of wood.

Yeah. Can you spell the term "Figuratively ass-fucked" for me? I sure as hell can.

So, until I awakened the second form of this Fullbring, or learn some nifty trick like Bringer Light, I'm staying the fuck away from anyone who could pretty much take me out! That meant no fighting bastards like Kuro, since most OC's tended to fight and kick his butt. I was clearly not at that level yet!

"So, he's finally here." Zoro's muffled voice said as his teeth clenched against the handle of his sword. The swordsman of our crew now sported all three of his swords, ready for any move Kuro might make. I was the same, eying the cat-themed pirate captain uneasily. My Fullbring was gripped in my hand, ready for combat.

"Yep," I spoke after, "And our day got a whole lot harder." Seriously, why show up now of all times? Now that I think about it, things might not go just as I wanted them to go, not that they ever did. But on a more serious note, we were up to our knees in shit. Luffy was to busy being hypnotized and trying to take a chunk out of Jango.

And while I knew Zoro was strong, and I was…capable, we couldn't defeat him. Not even if we all tried to gang-up on him, we couldn't win. For one thing Kuro was a hell-lot more experienced than us, he was also a fuckton stronger.

So in basic terms, our bonage level was now up three.

_So what do we do now? _I let that question linger in my head for a second. _With Luffy out of the picture right now, things are not going to' go well for us. _Damn it all to hell!

"To think," I heard Kuro say in a loud voice, "That these brats were able to hold you all back." His voice was almost monotone except for hints of displeasement. "How the Black Cat Pirates have fallen."

His head swung moved left in right, probably to crack his neck. "What do you have to say for yourselves, everyone?" He asked his fallen crew. Droplets of anger now soaked each of word. "Nothing? What a shame." When he got no answer, he then craned his neck over to look at the only conscious member of his crew.

"And you. Tell me, what do you have to say for yourself…JANGOOOOOOO!"

From Kuro's voice, I could tell that he was absolutely pissed, which scared me a little. I heard a loud squeal come from the beach and I saw Jango once again, still being chased by Luffy. But this time he was swinging a sword; it was probably one of the downed pirate's. Jango did his best to dodge the sluggish slashes from my bone-headed captain.

"I-I apoligIIIZZE!" Jango managed to cry out while moving out of the of Luffy's attack. "We – I – am so-sorry!" He finally said. "I did not thing th-they – that they would be so strong!"

Just after he said that Luffy through his newly obtained sword at Jango, which he quickly chose dive into the sand beneath him lest he have the blade impale the back of his head and jut out his mouth. "I d-dear-ly apologize!" Jango begged while crawling in an attempt to get away from Luffy.

"The reason I left you in charge of this mission Jango was because I was under the assumption that if I did, nothing would go wrong," Kuro's voice rose slightly as he spoke. "It's the same reason why I left that idiot brat alive when he figured out my plan." Brat? I think he meant Usopp. "But it seems that I was wrong in that notion. Because one thing I hadn't taken into account for was your weakness!" He finished off with a roar.

Jango did not speak back, nor did he pay attention. He was still trying to get away from Luffy, who now had two swords.

But it seemed that Jango and Kuro weren't the only one getting into this conversation.

"Who the hell do you think you're calling weak?!"

I familiar ear-grating voice reached my ears and looked back up to the cliff's side. There was Sham; he was still conscious even after the fall he took? Damn One Piece physics you' scary! His clothing was tattered and ripped and blood stained them. Cut's and bruises riddled his skin a nicely sized black and blue bruise could be seen from beneath his ripped shirt.

"Shit. That bastard is still alive?" I cursed underneath my breath. I thought a fall like that would've killed him! I mean seriously, what does it take to kill someone in this universe. A hydrogen bomb? Maybe a thermobaric missile?

I knew that a lava fist through the chest worked…get it?

Anyways I had to deal with this pedophilic bastard, again. God…dammit…all.

"Captain Kuro, you used to be quite the killer." Sham said while rubbing the claws on his gloves together. "But let's face the fact! Your claws and fangs have dulled." He let out a soft cackle while looking at Kuro with a sinister grin. "Me and my brother haven't exactly been doing nothing these past three years; while you were waiting on a rich girl hand-and-foot, we were destroying villages and sinking ships!"

"Very good," Kuro complimented, but his words held none of the praise he had given. "But what's your point to all of this?"

"Don't you get it you foolish bastard?! You've done nothing this whole time; I've been killing to my heart's content!" Sham suddenly yelled out. "There's no chance in hell you can defeat me now!"

The bloody Sham jumped high into the air from his position, both arms splayed by his sides and claws ready in an attempt to flay his former captain when he came down, like some demented shredder.

But that never happened.

I don't know what happened really; it was hard for my mind to comprehend what I was seeing. But after a few moments, my eyes caught up with my brain to sort things out.

Kuro had disappeared.

This wasn't like Sham or Buchi's high speed as I was able to see them like blurs. It also wasn't like in anime or manga either. There was no sound or a static sound or a green light; he was just, gone.

I was only able let out a small sound of confusion at what just happened.

When Sham came down, he instead shredded something black. It was that leather case I think. The cat assassin landed in Kuro's former position with a look of confusion etched on his face. I could understand. If the person I was planning on killing suddenly disappeared, I'd be pretty confused too.

"What the…what was that?" I heard Zoro ask from my side, probably equally confused as I was.

"He just…He just disappeared." Nami said after.

Usopp spoke next. "But how; what the heck happened just now?"

The question we were all wondering was answered when the sound of metal slowly being dragged across metal was heard followed by a metallic clattering sound. We all turned our attention farther down the slope, the part that hadn't been taken out by the stempost. There was Kuro. He was standing there with his back to Sham, his usual stone expression upon his face.

But now, Kuro was armed.

_Damn, he's got his claws out. _I thought in a mixture of grimness and fear while looking at the new weaponized glove on each of his hands.

Each glove was covered in black fur. At the end of each finger and thumb is the blade of a katana. Even now I had to wonder just how the hell he could use them. Ten black scabbards lay on the ground around his feet, probably for each of his glove's blades.

_I mean seriously, those things must weigh a ton! _I thought while staring at the weapons that would have been considered extremely flawed in my world. _And how the hell are those blades not sagging? You'd think that the weight of each blade would cause them to do that._ Maybe there was more to their design than meets the eye.

"Damn him…" I heard Sham grumble in rage before once again going for his ex-captain once again. "You're not getting away with your life this time Kuro!" Sham roared, "So go and die alre-"

Sham couldn't finish his sentence as swung one of his clawed hands at him. They easily cut right through flesh, muscle, bone, and more importantly Sham. His life had ended in a flash as Kuro used his dangerous claws to bisect his former crewmember down the middle. The now split corpses flew past him before skidding behind him, leaving a gruesome trail of blood.

"He-He killed him." I think I heard Usopp say, but I didn't pay attention to his words. My eyes were still glued to the very dead Sham for quite a few reasons. For one, this was the first time I've ever seen this; this was the first time I've seen someone get killed. This was my first dead body.

Honestly, I wanted to gag and empty anything in my stomach.

But more importantly there was something else. I could here a voice in the back of my head telling me to make a break for it. The only reason I couldn't is because I swore not to.

I gulped and looked away from the now dead Sham and brought my attention to Kuro. I made sure not to look at his blood-soaked claws and instead just kept my eyes on his cold-hearted eyes. They were so cold. Like ice.

At that moment I realized that my earlier thoughts were proven correct, I do not wish to fight this monster in a human disguise. I did not want to fight him; I never want to fight him. I would surely die if I were dumb enough to do it! He's faster, stronger, and far too capable for someone such as I!

"Z- Zoro," I called out shakily to my partner, "What do we do now?" If anything, I felt like running. My legs were shaking at my body felt stiff from fear, which coursed through my veins like venom. "I don't think we can take this guy on."

"Well we can't exactly run away either," He answered back, "The moment we do, we'd be nothing more than walking targets for him." What Zoro said was probably true, but still, that did nothing when it came to easing up the fear growing inside me.

"Oh now we're so dead," Usopp said in a squeaky voice. I turned back to look just to see him fall back on his rear while staring at Kuro, "WE'RE SO SCREWED! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIIIIIIIIIE!" He cried out in full-blown hysterics.

"Shut up! Your crying isn't helping our situation!" Nami yelled while using her staff to smack Usopp over the head. He sent her a soft glare while rubbing the top of his cranium. "If you have the energy to cry then you have the energy to fight!"

Usopp looked at Nami like she grew a second head. He then pointed in Kuro's Direction and yelled, "Fight?! Nami, do you actually expect me to fight that psy-…cho?" His words came to a dead halt as a look of confusion soon crossed his face his pointed finger became limp.

We all looked back in the beaches direction to notice a very big problem. Kuro had disappeared. He must've used that high-speed technique, the "Pussyfoot Maneuver." That's why I couldn't see Kuro; he was moving way to fast! I looked left, right, and even behind me, in hopes of finding him.

"Over there; he's on the beach!" Zoro's call instantly made me turn my attention to the beach where my breath was caught in my throat.

Luffy was dangling in Kuro's clawed hand. My captain struggled and gripped at his captor's arms in hopes of breaking free. But Kuro's iron-like grip held strong, and with a toss, he kicked Luffy in the gut, sending him flying back into the air.

Things got even worse once when Luffy splashed into the shallow waters of the beach.

"Oh crap! This is really bad!" I yelled in fear. Luffy fell into the ocean water! Shit!

"Dammit! Of all the things that could happen…" Grumbled out in a mixture of shock, fear and frustration. I would have to, if it weren't for the fact that I was still staring at where Luffy had been thrown.

"Wait, what's wrong you guys?" Usopp questioned in his confusion.

"Luffy ate a Devil Fruit, so now he can't swim." Nami explained in a worried tone.

"Wha' really?"

I stared at where Luffy had fallen in, "We gotta' get him outa' there or he's gonna' die." I told them while staring at the beach waters.

"Yeah, well how do we do that?" Usopp questioned. "If you hadn't noticed Patrick, we got that blocking the way," He said while gesturing to the piece of ship blocking off the slope, "And even if we do get passed that, we still have to deal with the psychopath Kuro!"

"Well we gotta' do it!" I snapped back angrily. "If you hadn't noticed, Luffy is in deep shit and he needs our help," I looked back at the beaches in worry. Kuro seemed to be talking with Jango, who sat on the ground, looking up at him dumbly. Their voices were too quiet so I couldn't here jack., but whatever they were planning (and they _were_) it could not be good.

"Calm down you two!" Nami yelled while stepping into the fray of our argument. "We aren't going to get anywhere arguing amongst ourselves, so let's calm down and think this through!" As much as I hated it, Nami was right. We were getting nowhere fighting amongst ourselves.

"So what should we do?" I started off with the question. "Usopp's right, getting past that thing and dealing with Kuro is going to be a bitch," I stated, "So how do we get around them to Luffy?" I asked them.

"I think you should be worry about yourself more than your idiotic captain." A rather cool and emotionless voice reached our ears. It instantly sent me on alert and we all turned our to see none other than Kuro there behind us. "Because you are in a danger unlike any other."

"When did he…" Nami said in shock before cutting her sentence short. "He must've done that thing he did before to get to the beach."

"The Pussyfoot Maneuver," I cut in, "That _is_ one of your best moves." I pointed out while staring at him. It seems I was given the floor this time as everyone glued his or her eyes on me.

"Just who are you?" Kuro asked with narrowed eyes, "After I faked my death at the hands of that idiot Morgan, I was sure to get rid of any loose ends. I was careful, so careful that if it weren't for me, those bumbling idiots that used to be my crewmates wouldn't have known," He paused as we stared at one another, "So again I'll ask you. Who. Are. You?"

I stared back at him with a leveled glare as I thought of what I could say. Do I say something cool, I tried that yesterday and it didn't go so well so maybe if I – what the hell am I thinking?! My friend is drowning and I'm thinking of a cool one-liner!

"Me? Well, I'm just someone who likes to keep his ear to the ground." I spoke in a frank tone.

Kuro stared at me for a moment in silence before speaking "…Well whatever the reason is, it doesn't mater anymore seeing as all of you will be dead in the next few moments."

That immediately made us tense, I was already preparing to shoot off a propeller, and from the way Zoro shifted his legs, he was preparing to make whatever sword strike he needed to take down this evil man.

"So you're ready to jump into this skirmish?" The way I spoke was hopefully good enough to mask my growing fear.

Kuro let out a low, dark chuckle. "Me? No," He thin grin grew on his lips, "After that, then I can continue on with the strategy."

"I- I wont let you Kuro!" Usopp suddenly sprung to his feet and stepped in front of us. He plucked out a lead ball and mounted it on his slingshot's rubber band. "I'm not going to let you take a single step!" He declared once again.

"Usopp, do put down that kid's toy before you get yourself hurt." Kuro's words only seemed to aggravate my long-nosed buddy as I heard the elastic band crack as Usopp pulled the band back farther.

"How dare you," He ground out, "How dare you toy and play with kaya's emotions!" He roared with fierce eyes that glared holes into Kuro. "How could you do such a thing?! How could you do that for so many years, love, protect, and care for Kaya only to stomp on her like garbage!" A single tear ran down his cheek. "Klahadore, or Kuro, or whatever the hell you name is, how can try to kill her when you've acted as her family for so long!"

Everything was quiet for a moment after Usopp's enraged rant. You could literally feel the tension floating in the air as time went by. After a few second, Kuro let out a sigh. He reached and slipped off his right glove.

"I suppose you're right Usopp," He said while adjusting his glasses with his bare hand, "Me and Ms. Kaya spent so much time together, even before her parents passed on," A serene smile came to his face, "She had become more than my master, she had become my friend."

If things weren't confusing before, they sure as hell were now! Kuro was calling Kaya his friend when he wanted to kill her? Excuse me? We all stared at him in confusion, me the most because in canon, he shouldn't be acting like this.

_Great, what else did I fuck up in this universe? _I thought to my self with a disturbed frown.

"Oh yes, how I remember the days." He said in this peaceful tone while closing his eyes, as if to reminisce on past events. "I took her out on shopping trips, I took care of her when she was ill, and we used to talk all the time; those were great memories indeed." He then opened his eyes, staring at us with that kind smile which still put me off.

"I was dedicated To Ms. Kaya day in, day out for so. Very. Long." He continued on, pausing between words. I could here aggravation slowly dripping on each word.

He suddenly tilted his head back, causing the sun's rays to gleam off his glasses. I could see his forehead scrunched and veins bulge beneath his skin. His lips pushed together before they pulled back into a fierce snarl.

He then ground out his next words in anger. "I have waited years for this day. The day when I can end that brat's life and take what is so rightly mine!"

_So he doesn't think of her as a friend. _Good, at least I now knew I didn't fuck anything up that badly.

"It made no sense. Me, who was once renowned for being one of the great terrors of East Blue, was brought down to nothing more than a butler for a rich, snot-nosed brat!" He brought his head and I flinched a little at his glaring that held so much hate. "I assure, it took every fiber of my very being not to simply rip her throat out with my bear fingers!"

"Can you grasp the hate I am feeling? No, of course not! You could barely begin to grasp the absolute rage I feel knowing that I was used as a DOG FOR THAT LITTLE GIRL!" He roared, his ability to hold back all that bottled up rage finally gone.

And it seemed that whatever was holding back Usopp had finally disappeared too.

"KUUUUUUROOOOOOO!"

That's was all it took. With that roar, Usopp let go, sending a lead ball zooming in his direction. But I don't think it ever hit, let alone touch Kuro, the next thing I knew Kuro was gone again, probably using the Pussyfoot Maneuver.

When he had reappeared, he had crossed the distance between him and Usopp. His right glove had been reattached and its sword-like claws were raised high up into the air, to flail him.

"Usopp, I remember you saying that you hit me as hard as you could yesterday right?" He questioned with a slightly sinister grin. "I believe it's about time we got even, right now." He didn't waist anytime in swinging them down.

"No! Usopp look out!"

I barely had anytime to think before I grabbed by the back of his Overalls and through him backwards. Then as quick as possible, I brought my fullbring up just in time to meet Kuro's claws. The clash of weapons just made realize not only was he fast, but strong too! Holy shit man!

With a grunt I pushed forward and Kuro backed off hopping back a few feet to stare me down. No, not me, but the propeller constructed of spiritual energy coming from my combat-pass.

"What an unusual weapon," He commented "In all my time as a pirate, I've never seen a thing such as this." Well of course, I'm the only fullbringer in existence, there's no chance he'd seen it before.

"You'd be surprised at what you can find in these ocean!" I said the end of my words with a grunt as I swung my arm twice, sending out two death propellers that flew in is direction.

Besides a look of surprise they didn't falter him in the slightest. He ducked under the first one before acrobatically performing a backflip, letting it pass right under him. After landing on his face, looking not even close to winded, he continued talking.

"Yes, it appears so," I saw his eyes flicker off me for a moment before returning, "And I believe you'll be putting that weapon to use _very _soon." I could see a cold smirk rising upon his lips.

"Whaddya' mean by that?" I asked in a bit of confusion.

"It means that after Jango takes care of you all, I can go after Kaya." He said while, taking a few steps back? Was he retreating, possibly to go find Kaya, or to catch me off guard to kill me? Well for the latter, he sure as hell wouldn't need to do that; he could kill me quite easily.

That's when my brain registered what he said.

_Wait, Jango? Did he just say that Jango was going to kill us?_

The thought was almost laughable. Well, it was more laughable that he was now a real person. Sure, Jango was a competent fight I suppose; with his hypnotism powers, he could be quite the formidable foe. But that was only if he had others to back him up. Alone, he was very weak. I mean, just earlier, I nearly kicked his butt with one attack.

And Kuro just said that he was going to do the impossible.

Like I said, the thought was almost laughable.

And it seemed Zoro agreed as well.

"Sorry to point it out to you, but your friend isn't exactly battle capable." Zoro's words were oh so true. I'm certain that even Usopp could take him down. Maybe.

I had to raise an eyebrow when Kuro just gave a soft chuckle once more and it was _very _dark. It was like he knew something that we didn't know; he knew something that I didn't know. And when I didn't know something – a person who literally watched the anime and read the mange – it could NOT be good.

"That's what everyone says about him," Kuro spoke with that smile not leaving his face, "I've even had crewmembers that questioned why I made him my First-mate." I did not like where this was going. There was something my mind was missing, or something I was never previewed to in the first place.

Kuro's eyes once again travelled upward as they acknowledged something. Just what was he looking at?

Suddenly, something big came whizzing high overhead. Judging by the shadow that quickly zoomed over us, I could tell it had to be massive. And then it came down.

-BOOM-

Hard.

I nearly jumped when, what I could see, the stempost of the Black Cat Pirate's ship crashed into the woodlands around us, taking out trees and sending up a large dust cloud as it smashed into the earth. After the loud event, everything was silent; I could only hear the sound of small debris as they settled back into the earth.

_What? What happened?_

I was sure that this was the thought going through every one of our heads as we kept our eyes glued to the massive piece of wood that had just come raining down. Why? Did someone throw that? Did Luffy somehow escape the ocean waters and throw it?

I wanted to know what had happened, so I turned around to see what was going on.

Good news: I realize now it wasn't Luffy.

Bad news: I realize now it _wasn't _Luffy

The hulking, 7-foot figure of muscle that stood in the middle of the slope was far too large to be Luffy's. His light brown pants hugged his legs tightly as muscle bulged beneath them while his white shirt did nothing in containing his chiseled chest. His red blue trench coat was torn in several places as his log-like arms pushed through the sleeves. His light brown hair was rurally and unkempt.

In all honesty, if it weren't for the heart-shaped glasses the beast wore I would have never guessed who that was.

"Is…is that Jango?"

That couldn't him, right? I mean, he was a weakling; he was a scrawny weakling compared to this muscled monster. But if he was a different person, then where the hell had been hiding?!

"Ah, so Jango's finally done powering up," I quickly looked back at Kuro before swinging my head back. So that _was_ Jango? "It usually takes a few moments for him to prepare, but it's always worth it in the end."

"What in the…" Zoro said in utter shock, "That freaky hypnotist had a trick like this up his sleeve, all this time?!"

"What happened to him?" Usopp questioned aloud. "How did he get so freaking huge!"

"It might have something to do with his hypnosis." Nami theorized while eyeing him. I was too. He was breathing heavily and he looked to be bearing his teeth like a wild animal.

"Very good," Kuro suddenly cut into our conversation, "By hypnotizing himself, Jango can release the physical and mental limits on his muscles, making him quite the monster!" A wicked grin came to his face, "Honestly, I feel almost bad forcing him on you brats. Almost." He then took his eyes off us and brought them to Jango before he gave a single command.

"Jango, kill them all."

"GRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWW!"

That was the only command the enraged Jango needed before he came charging at us like a pissed bull.

Of course, Usopp let us all know of he was scared. "HOLY CRAP HE'S COMING THIS WAAAAY!" His mouth was agape as tears and snot dripped down his face. "WHAT THE HELL DOES WE DO-HOO-HOO-HOOOO?!"

"Patrick, back me up here!" Zoro suddenly yelled while charging at the now berserk Jango. I had paused for a moment before giving a grunt a running right after him.

Honestly, I didn't know if it was a good idea to go charging down the now berserk man, but I didn't have a single plan to kick his ass either. My plans had run out the moment I nearly died. So I guess the only thing I could do was go along with Zoro's crazy idea for now.

I charged in right after him with my fullbring held in a throwing position, ready to dish out an attack if needed. As Zoro neared Jango, I saw him cross both his katanas in front of him as he prepared to use his signature move.

And as he neared Jango I could here him let out animalistic grunts as he was almost upon us. Zoro jumped into the air and went flying towards Jango's chest ready to attack.

"Oni G-OOF!"

-BOOM-

Zoro didn't get the chance to finish his attack. Jango had reach up and grabbed Zoro by his left leg before flinging him into the slope's left wall. Shattered pieces of rock instantly began to crumble and fall off on the moment of impact.

"Son of a…!" I growled out while sending a trio of propellers at him. They were spot on and I thought they would have done something, as they had easily taken down the likes of Sham earlier. But I felt my hopes drop as he swung both his arms out, crushing the solidified spiritual energy with absolute ease.

_What the fuck is this?! _I literally screamed in my head. I could feel what could have been either sweat or blood from an earlier cut drip down my forehead as I stared at the feral man. _How can Jango do this? He never used this in the anime; I didn't even think he could ever do something like this!_

A sudden idea popped into my head. Could _I _be the cause of this? Was my existence in this universe causing disruptions and changes? A small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state; that is the basic definition of the butterfly effect.

_I knew that me being here would cause changes, but this ridiculous! _I thought in worry. If my small changes caused something like this, just thinking about what I could do in the future episodes was even more terrifying. _Or maybe the anime was different from this univer-_

"GRAAAUUUUGGGH!"

Jango's enraged roar brought me out of my calculating thoughts. And the moment I saw the looming shadow of the giant hypnotist standing over me, I knew one thing.

I was so ass-fucked I didn't even need to drop the soap.

Jango was too fast for me to react. He reached down and gripped my left arm tightly before easily picking me up. The sudden rush of wind and the feeling of my stomach dropping into my pelvis was the only signal I had that Jango had thrown me over his shoulder, like trash.

Blue, brown, blue, brown, blue, brown; those two colors were all I could register as my jumbled mind tried to comprehend the happenings before my eyes, and I felt sick like I was about to vomit very soon. And just as I came up-

-THUMP-

-I came down. Very, very hard.

Multiply the number of turtles with the circumference. I am not a crook! Stir lava until it's a fine powder. Banana booty has soldier duty. Why is the moon rock? Can someone direct me to the closest save point for a level up? Dickbutt.

"Super jerk can doughnut my sprinkles." Waffle George, net fish. I'm Batman.

_Ow my head. _I groaned inwardly, while trying to figure out what was happening. I went to turn my head to see only to realize that if I did I would have smothered my face in sand. _So I'm lying on my chest. _I concluded.

I did my best to put both hands under my body to lift my self. Waves of pain and agony wafted through each bone and muscle in my body. I was sure a bone was broken or a muscle was torn badly considering the fall I just took.

_The physics of this universe have saved my ass again. _Something I would be forever grateful for.

I was soon up in a kneeling stance and I looked at my bruised and cut legs that were covered in blood; sand now stuck to me like glue. Great, I was in even worse shape than before.

I looked behind me, as my fall had made it so I was facing the beaches, to see Jango, slowly stalking towards Nami and Usopp. I quickly saw Zoro who was in the kneeling position much similar to my own, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that I stopped Jango.

"Shit, where the hell is my combat-pass," I grumbled while looking for it. "It must've fallen out of my hands when he tossed me." I looked left and right before spotting by the body of one of the unconscious/dead pirates a few meters away from me.

I slowly got up and did my best to run towards it. But my terrible state had reduced it to a fast stumble. But it was quick enough to reach down to grab the wooden plack in time, as Jango was nearly upon them.

"Come on," I grunted as my fingers gripped the combat-pass tightly, "Come the fuck on!" I activated it and black spiritual energy covered my hand and the cross-like shape of my Fullbring took form.

Charging it up to its maximum, I aimed at the muscle-bound fiend.

"EAT THIS YOU FREAK HYPNOTIST!"

After roaring that, I sent out one maximum charged propeller as it zoomed at Jango. It wavered off target a few times because of the distance, but after a few moments it kept locked on to him. Jango must've heard my call, because as it closed the distance, he turned his head to look behind him

-BAM-

The spiritual projectile smacked face first into his head, breaking into shards. But it wasn't for nothing I suppose. The force behind it was enough to cause him to stumble, and from I can see, a trail of blood began to run itself down his head.

I thought I could here Nami and Usopp call my name, but I couldn't really here them from this distance. But what mattered was that they were safe and undeadified.

"Hey you son-of-a-bitch," I roared up at him, "Where the hell do you think you're going?!" I had to take a few ragged breathes for a second. "We aren't done here! So get your muscle-y ass back over here!"

"GRAAAAAAUUGGHHHHAAAAAH!"

Jango answered instantly with an animalistic roar while smashing his fists into his chest in a gorilla-esque way. Then he charged at me like the walking tank of muscle he was. A wasn't going to lie, I was scared shitless, but I couldn't exactly leave Nami and Usopp on there own.

I sent three more propellers as he neared but all he did was swipe at them with his hands. He was already upon me. To dodge a most likely fatal punch from Jango, I jumped to the side and landed on the ground. I went to get up but he was on me again as he stood over my fallen form.

He brought down his foot in an attempt to curb stomp my head into mush. In the end his foot slammed against my fullbring, as I was just able to bring it over myself to act as a shield.

_I can't do this!_ I thought while grunting to keep Jango's enlarged foot from crushing my head like a watermelon. The muscles in my arms strained to keep his foot away but the weight behind it was _too_ strong! _Damn it all what do I do? _My mind reeled as I tried my best to think of a plan out of this horrid situation that would most likely end in my death.

But apparently I didn't have to do shit, as Zoro had my back.

I didn't know what happened at first, but when Jango suddenly was flung over me with a trail of blood I was extremely grateful for the break my arms were given as they flopped to my side.

"Hey Patrick, you ok?" The voice of Zoro called out as a shadow loomed over my body. My eyes adjusted and saw that it was my green-haired companion who was holding out a hand to me.

I breathed out a thanks as I gripped his forearm and his hand gripped mine. He easily pulled me up to my feet with little effort on his part. Once he did I was able to get a good look at him and I had to wince at the sight.

Zoro was covered in bruises. His clothes were in disarray with many rips and tears. His white shirt had a big red stain in the middle of his chest while I noticed his left leg was a little wobbly.

So I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"God you look like crap."

Zoro's eyes scanned me for a second before he said, "Well you look like shit." I had to agree with him there, compared to him, my injuries were probably ten-times worse than his. I've been a human ragdoll for the past hour or so we've been having this fight; I was not enjoying it a single bit. "Seriously, how are you not dead yet?"

"Dumb luck I suppose." I tried to joke while trying to shift my leg, which gave of jolts of pain. "But seriously, what the hell is with him," I mumbled while peering behind Zoro to look at Jango who was slowly getting back up to his feet. He had one large gash go across his back that gushed blood.

"I know what you mean," Zoro said while equipping the rest of his katanas, "But let's worry about more important things, like getting Luffy."

I had to pause for a moment. Wait, Luffy…

"OH SHIT LUFFY!" I cried out in fear while looking over at the beach.

It seems that being nearly killed by a psychotic hulk hypnotist had made me forget about him. Does that make me a horrible person?

Meh.

"Patrick, calm down!" Zoro said to me. "Look, he's over there," He looking out at the ocean. I followed his gaze and instantly felt any weight on my shoulder disappear.

A little ways away from us was our idiot captain. Luffy, even though unconscious, was still alive and not drowning at the bottom of the ocean. He was lying face-first in the shallow waters. The ocean tides slowly washed over him for retreating.

"Oh thank god." I breathed out. I thought for a second that Luffy had bit the dust. Thank you higher power which grants every main-character the ability to live. If Luffy had died then…

_I really shouldn't think about that. _I told myself inwardly.

"You go get him; tell Luffy to get his ass in gear," I looked over to Zoro as he walked towards Jango with his swords at the ready, "I'll handle Jango while you do that." I looked at him unsure; could I really leave him? "Go already!"

"R- right!" I said while I began to run my best towards Luffy, "I'll help you out right after!" I called back to him. The only answer I received was the sound of fighting.

I was soon at his unconscious body. After deactivating and pocketing my fullbring I began the job of tugging him foot-by-foot out of the water. When I felt that we were a safe distance away from it I put my palm to his chest and was relieved to see it rhythmically rise and fall. He was _alive_! But there was no time to rejoice, so I began to shake the hell out of him.

"Come on Luffy, wake up," I called to his prone form, "We could really use you help right now." Sadly that got me nothing. "Dammit Luffy wake up!" I yelled while slapping his face several times. Still nothing.

"Dammit Luffy! WAKE! UP!" I yelled even harder while gripping him by the face and pulling. His cheeks stretched out unnaturally as I tugged with whatever strange I had left. After tussling him a little more I let go.

_This isn't getting me anywhere. _I grumbled in my head. My eyes flickered to Zoro who was still going at it with Jango before going back to Luffy. _What the hell can I do to wake him? _Everything I was doing was getting me nowhere, and I sure as bloody hell wasn't doing CPR on him. So what?

My mind suddenly went to the Thriller Bark Arc…

"It can't be that easy," I grumbled under my breath while looking down at Luffy, "I refuse to believe that it's that easy."

_But isn't that how it always is? _I thought before sighing. _Well, I might as well try. _I told myself before taking a deep breath. I thought over each word I was going to say before speaking them.

"Luffy. If you don't get up right now I'm going to eat all the meat."

-WHOOSH-

"WHAT?! MEAT! WHERE'S THE MEAT?! I DON'T SEE ANY!"

I had to stare up at Luffy, who had suddenly gotten to both his feet in an inhuman blur. Really? _Really? _All it took to get this moron up was _meat?_ I just – what? I can't _even _right now! I mean, who get's come back from unconsciousness because of meat of all things?!

_Y'know what…fuck it._

"MEAT! MEAT! WHERE'S THE MEAT?!"

"Luffy! Calm down and pay attention to me!"

My command was thankfully answered as Luffy broke away from his search to look down at me. We stared at each other, him looking at me with an unreadable expression. It was like this for a few more seconds before he finally spoke.

"You look like shit Patrick."

I sighed. "Don't worry, I'm very well aware," I said to him, "But that doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you have to go take down Kuro." Luffy looked a little confused before that look morphed into one of rage.

"Oh yeah! Where is that cat bastard?!" He yelled in anger while looking back and forth. "I saw him earlier but I can't remember!" Does he remember getting thrown into the water. Bah, that doesn't matter!

"He's right up there," I told him while pointing at Kuro at the top of the slope who…hadn't moved? He really didn't attack Usopp or Nami? Why? Did he really expect Jango to do it? Was it a villain thing? Bah! Again, it doesn't matter! "Go kick his ass so I can go and help Zoro beat Jango." I explained to him as my eyes drifted over to a clashing Jango and Zoro.

"Wha'?" He said in confusion while looking over too. His eyes bugged a little at the sight of Jango. "Who the heck is that guy!"

"That's Jango."

"Wait, he's the hypnotist?!"

"Yep."

"But he was so weak! How'd he get so big?"

"Look Luffy that doesn't matter," I told him while getting up, "Just go take care of Kuro while Zoro and I take care of Jango." My combat-pass was already in my hand and activated.

"Yeah, got it!"

Those were his final words before he was charging off with a war cry straight up to Kuro. I took my eyes off him and brought them to the fight that I had to worry about. I quickly charged up my fullbring before launching one straight at Jango.

He didn't see it sail straight through the air before it smacked right into the side of his head with enough force to make him fall over. Zoro looked back at me and I could see he was a lot more bruised than before.

"Alright, I'm back." I said while running over to his left side.

"You finally got that idiot up?" He questioned before getting into a fighting stance as Jango slowly got back up again. I was on guard too, didn't want anything to happen like earlier.

"Yep, I told him to take down Kuro's ass and to leave this bastard to us." I said while charging up my fullbring once again.

"Yeah, well I'm glad your hear to help," Zoro commented just as Jango raised to his full height, "This guy's a lot tougher than he looks. Yeah no kidding. Jango was covered and gashes that oozed blood but he was acting like they were nothing!

"GRAAAAAAUUGGGGHHH!"

The moment Jango charged at us with an enraged roar, Zoro and I were already prepared to throw whatever attack we needed to. But frankly speaking, as I stared at the charging behemoth, I could only prey that this ended soon…

Because I didn't think I could do this any longer.

* * *

**FINALLY! FINALLY! FINALLY! That concludes the 15****th**** chapter of this story. I would once again like to apologize again for not updating for such a long time. I have had a LOT of shit to do. So once again, sorry about that. **

**Anyways, I'll keep this brief. I'll try and get the next chapter out a soon as possible in a way that doesn't get in the way of schoolwork or procrastination. Just thought you should know. Also, I've decided to do A Deadman Wonderland/ RWBY Crossover, just for the lulz. I've been thinking it over for some time, and I think I can do it.**

**Anyway bye! **

**NIGRIS OUT!**


	16. Chapter 16

**[PAY ATTENTION! PAY ATTENTION! PAY ATTENTION! PAY ATTENTION!]**

**I AM SO SORRY! THIS CHAPTER WILL BE A LITTLE SHORTER COMPARED TO THE OTHERS! ACTUALLY, IT WILL PROBABLY LACK THE OVERALL AWESOMENESS THAT THEY ALWAYS DO! AGAIN SORRY!**

**Greetings followers and/or readers who have decided to check out this story that has been surprisingly doing well! This shall be the 16****th**** chapter of my story "Faker"; I hope you enjoy it! **

**Now, I know I haven't been updating very often. And as much as I want to update this more than I usually do, procrastination is a pain in the ass and writer's block is a bitch; I'm not going to even get into my school life at the moment. But thankfully summer is right here so I should get more time. Here's hoping!**

**But while I've been on my leave, I been taking the time to read other fanfics, gathering multiple ideas and plans that I can use to further enhance my story even further.**

**Now, I've been looking through the comments (Because I love reading the comments you send) and I've decided to answer some questions that have been asked.**

**1\. There has been the idea of giving him a devil fruit, which I completely disagree with. While I find devil fruits to be good, I don't thing it would look really good in the future of the story. Patrick would become way too overpowered. So no fruit for him; end of discussion. **

**2\. I've also been asked if I was going to give Patrick a second fullbring. Yes, I will, but not for some time. And I don't think I'll use the pendant he got; I just don't like the idea of using it. But I will try to compensate with something in the future.**

**3\. I will also try and deviate from the plot from time-to-time. Not to where it would be strange, but enough to the point where I can introduce new characters and places that will be important to the story.**

**Besides that, I will try and change anything else for the better of my story if I can think of it. If you want to give your opinion on something, leave a review or PM me.**

**ALSO, I SHALL BE DOING SOME RENOVATIONS TOO! I SHALL BE GOING BACK THROUGH PAST CHAPTERS AND REVISING THINGS THAT I COULD HAVE DONE BETTTER!**

**Anyways, let's continue with our wonderful story. And god forbid I try to stall this story any arc any long, so let's try and finish it people!**

**Chapter 16: A Black Cat. Nine lives are up**

* * *

A battle between men—between _warriors_—was considered to be something of epic proportions! Something that would make any person look on with awe as two men of such monstrous power! Women would fall over in sexual pleasure at seeing such a display of masculinity! Yes a true fight between men is something that would take the breath away from any person!

Or some bullshit thingy like that, right? I didn't really know. For all my information on anime and manga like Fairy Tail, Fate/Stay Night, and Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple, I was really lacking in just how the hell that idea worked.

But I knew this fight was far from a fight between men. It was more like two matadors trying to survive the wrath of a rampaging bull that's on every kind of steroid imaginable.

So yeah, not really manly.

I wasn't even much of a man anyways y'know. I mean, if someone were to try and pick a fight with me then I'd fight back, sure. But I would prefer it if my opponents were smaller, younger, or generally weaker than I was. I might be physically strong, but deep inside these muscles and chiseled abs was the biggest crybaby in the world!

I mean really, I had none of that "pride of a warrior" bullshit; I just wanted to be strong so that I could survive in this universe, preferably with my head still attached. I'd pull all the low blows I could and cut every corner possible just so I could survive.

And frankly, picking a fight with Jango (who shouldn't even be the lumbering monster right in front of me but Murphy's law is shit), was not really helping out with that _surviving_ thing I had planned to do.

_I mean seriously, what cheat code bullshit is this? _

"Patrick! Get your head out of your as and pay attention!" I heard Zoro yell. My body just had enough time to react to Jango, who had cleared the small distance and swiped at both of us with an arm. I was just able to jumped to the side and land on my feet.

Zoro on the other hand crossed both of his blades and took the full brunt of his fist. Zoro let out a grunt when the full weight pushed him back a few feet. Thankfully though, his inhuman capabilities kept any other damage from happening.

"Take this bastard!" two propellers left my Fullbring with my roar. The first smashed into his side while the second curved outward before shattering against his temple. But besides his enraged cry Jango didn't budge an inch. What a fucking monster!

_Damn, what is it going to take, to take Jango down? _I thought while glaring at the large brute. _I mean really, he looks like Berserker's little brother, and that's saying something!_

Jango sprinted forward with monstrous speed that I couldn't even follow. He grabbed Zoro's arm, who wasn't even able to react, and pretty much rag-dolled him into the ocean with a splash. Then, to my horror, he began to charge me like a berserking bull.

_Oh sweet giblets on a grill! _I cried out in fear in my mind (Why that phrase came to mind…well you got me). I went to move myself out of the way but a sudden pain in my right ankle caught my off guard and I collapsed with a cry of pain.

I couldn't do anything; I was stuck between a rock and an irate Jango. So all I could do was being up my arms and use my Fullbring as a shield.

-BAM-

No such luck. The moment his hulking form made contact with my frailer one, I was picked off my feet in a much similar manner to earlier. Every ounce of oxygen left my lungs as I rolled off his back and was sent hurtling into the air before crashing back down with a heavy thump.

"Gweaaaaaaggghh," is what came out from my mouth. I could see the flaming orb that was the sun, hanging in the sky like a massive lamp. Soon, I was wheezing and coughing for much needed air.

Was something broken? Possibly. If I was thinking about the sun at a time like this, then it must've been in my head.

When I heard the sound of thudding feet and a feral growl, I knew it was in my best interest to get off my ass no matter the cost, broken brain be damned. So after a moment of useless struggling I was able to get onto a knee and spotted Jango coming at me again.

"Oh no you don't," I growled under my breather, "Not this time!" Thankfully, I didn't lose my Combat-Pass. So as he neared me, I charged up to full capacity and sent off two for his upper body before sending the last one at his legs. And although they all only had three blades, they did the job well.

I was glad that the transformation he used pretty much made him a completely, mindless idiot. While he completely destroyed the two going for his head, the last one stuck his left leg sending him tumbling to the ground in a cloud of sand.

"I'm not—*Gasp*—done yet." I breathed out haphazardly. I prepared to shoot some more off but I might have overestimated the abilities.

"H-Holy hell!" was what I managed to gasp out before I fell down onto my rear again. Sweat poured from my brow and my vision was blurry as I did my best to catch my breath. My entire body was shaking, like I had just stepped out into a blizzard butt-naked.

When I had tried to charge up some more Spiritual Energy to form another propeller, something was…wrong. The Spirit Energy (Or the feeling of what I guess was Spirit Energy) suddenly stalled, almost like it hit a wall; it like something was blocking its path.

Seriously, just what was that? What just happened to me?

"Wh—*Gasp*—What's going—*Cough*—going on?" I managed to say. My eyes caught the sight of my Fullbring. The usual manji-shape of created by the Spirit Energy was erratic, fizzling slightly as it tried to keep a corporeal shape.

It also helped me figure just what happened.

_Don't tell me, _I thought with a foreboding feeling, _am I running low on Spiritual Energy? _That's the only thing that made sense. I've been shooting off these attacks like there was no tomorrow, not taking into consideration about how much spirit energy I had. Because of my stupidity, I was paying for it.

Then there was the matter of my Fullbring too.

My Fullbring, or Ichigo's Fullbring (Whichever made more sense) had one major ability with one major flaw. Using it, I can fire off propeller-like blasts of energy, which apparently were similar to firing off the famous "Getsuga Tenshou". The power of each propeller depended on the number of blades.

Sadly, the attack was _flawed_, something my brain didn't realize until this very moment because I was being stupid. The attacks usually get weaker the more I used them. Then after three consecutive shots, I become vulnerable to attack because it's harder to build up the spirit energy to form them.

So basically, I had been screwing myself over from the very beginning.

_Fantastic! _I roared with panic in my head,_ Just when I thought I had this technique down, I completely forget the most important facts about it!_

Hell, the idea of even _Spiritual_ Energy still boggled me. Well not when it was a fictional energy, but now that it was real, my brain flipped and flopped over it! Just how was I supposed to measure it? Was there some sort of measuring unit I could use; that sure as hell would make it easier!

Matter-of-fact, how do you even describe how you feel Spirit Energy? I mean, for me feeling mine (I guessed) that it felt sorta' like a mix an adrenaline rush and a little heat, but sorta' less. Did that make sense? But if that was true, what did feeling other people's spirit energy feel like? Gah, this is such a brainteaser!

"Just—*Huff*—wonderful."

"GRAAAAAAHHHGH!"

_FUCK ME!_

I brought my head back to look at Jango. He was back on his feet, a little worse for wear, but still extremely pissed. He was lumbering towards me again with a limp. _Shit! Shit! SHIT! What the hell do I do?! _I screamed inwardly with terror. I tried to get back to my feet, but I felt so fucking tired!

"RAAAAAAAWWWHHH!"

Oh dear. This did not bode well for me.

"TIGER TRAP!"

A fast blur was what met the berserker head-on. Zoro's attempt to cut him down was nice, but fruitless. Jango had reacted quickly, grabbing both of his swords in mid-swing stopping Zoro's sneak attack. From my position, I could see his katanas cut through his gloved hands and into the skin of his palms. But Jango didn't react, and opted to use his larger height to push down upon Zoro.

"Zoro…" I mumbled out while staring at him.

"I could… use some help." Zoro's strained words through me out of my dazed staring; right I couldn't get distracted now of all times!

I scooted my aching my body into a more manageable position and began to charge up. It was hard, given the way it had acted up earlier, but in the end, I was able to do it. With a shout I tossed a three-pronged propeller that smashed right into his big ugly mug.

"Grawh!" While it was weaker than the rest I've shot, it was still effective. He cried out in surprise as he stumbled backwards. He lost balanced and fell backwards, almost smacking his head against the cliffs.

"You ok Zoro?" I asked Zoro who hopped back to stand at my side. His clothes were soggy and droplets of water dripped from him. "You were thrown pretty badly." I said to him, and wasn't just talking about him being thrown into the ocean, but earlier also.

"I'm fine; you should worry about yourself." he answered while eyeing me.

"Don't worry. I'm just low on Spirit Energy." I told him while wiping away some sweat from my brow.

"Spirit e\Energy? What are you—"

"Look, it's the stuff that powers my attacks." I said while waving off his question. That was probably going to bite in the b-hole later. "Right now lets take care of this bastard." I said while looking back at Jango that was getting back to his feet.

"Damn," Zoro cursed, "What the hell does it take to keep that bastard down?" that was something I wished to know also Zoro. Jango, though still standing strong, was covered in bruises and gashed of different sizes. His clothes were in were tatters and were stained with blood.

"Well, let's—*Grunt*—find out." I grunted out while getting to my feet. I did my best to keep all weight off my right ankle, just putting pressure on it sucked ass. "I got a plan." I told him.

"Oh yeah, well that's nice. Mind filling me in." he said while readying his swords.

"Simple. You fight him up close and personal while I fight him from afar." I explained. "We'll whittle him down bit-by-bit until he falls," I said while keeping my eyes on Jango. He was using the cliff's wall as support.

Zoro nodded his head side-to-side, probably deciding whether to follow it. "I guess I'll go with it," he finally said, "I don't exactly have a plan either."

"Good." I said. "Also, there's once last thing you're going to have to do." I said while slowly backing away from them. Zoro looked at me in confusion before I continued. "You're going to have to keep his attention the whole time. If I get him by him one more time like before, I don't think I could fight any longer."

"Right, I got it, let's do—"

"GRAAAAWHH!"

"Zoro get ready!" I yelled out to him as my eyes caught the sight of Jango fully back in the game. He began his charge, thankfully at the swordsman.

"Right," Zoro called back before he ducked under Jango's wild punch and sent a strike at his side, which Jango blocked with his forearm before throwing a kick that Zoro barely dodged by hoping backwards. Once his momentum stopped, Zoro charged back at him to clash again.

_Awesome! _I thought while staring at the fight. It was too amazing for words; it was the true epicenter of human capability (Of my world); it was some real Bruce Lee shit. _God, it's like real-life action film. _More like a _really_ real-life action film my head told me.

Well, whatever. It was time I booked it! Zoro was a big boy now, he didn't need mama Patrick watching his behind.

So I began to hobble away from them. The fight we had just been through had taken us to the left side of the beach, a little ways away from the opening in the cliffs and the Black Cat Pirate's ship.

I'll admit I was a little worried over the fact that the cannon fodders were back on their feet, crowded around the opening path. But they thankfully didn't notice me, as they were too transfixed on the fight between Luffy and Kuro.

They seemed to have stopped their combat and were staring each other down. The area had become a little wider, as the rock walls had crumbled off. I could also see many claw marks sliced into the bedrock.

As for Luffy and Kuro, they looked like the fight they just went through.

Kuro's clothes were a mess, matted with blood and the swords on his left claw had been snapped off at the tips of his fingers. I think his glasses were broken too; I couldn't tell from this distance.

Luffy on the other hand looked ten-times as worse in my eyes. He was covered in large cuts and gashes that leaked blood. His red vest was torn across his left side and his shoulder had a nice purple tint from bruising. He had also lost his hat in the tussle.

Now I was sure, if I had actually been dumb enough to pick a fight with Kuro, I would have been beaten in seconds. Or worse, I could've ended up like Sham.

_Sham…_ I paused that thought and shuddered, trying to keep myself from gagging. That was completely different from the anime, and the manga; it was way too graphic; too much design for my liking.

_Because this is the real; this isn't fake anymore. _I had to tell myself with a swallow. The blood that spilled from his body was real. The intestines that hung out from his split corpse were real. Those dead-eyed looks of surprise on both parts of his face were real; they were _real_!

I was suddenly shaken from my gloomy thoughts by a cry of pain from behind me. Oh no! I looked back behind me to see Zoro who was getting back up from the ground from one of Jango's attacks.

_Ok, no more time to dilly-dally, _I thought while turning myself around. I felt that I was at a safe distance where I could keep away from Jango, so I guess this was the time to attack. Let's not leave Zoro to fend for himself against

I took my time to get perfect aim; I didn't want to hit Zoro on accident. They both moved around trading blows, matching one another fist for sword. I then began to charge up my Spirit Energy, using my imagination in combination with that technique Ganju used which I had used with my fight with Mohji.

I put everything I pretty much could into it, using my imagination to charge up my Fullbring. He thrummed to life with power. Black Spiritual Energy coalesced it and my hand as it charged with even more power.

When I saw Jango had his back to me when he stalemated with Zoro, I swung my arm, sending off a propeller. But what happened was something I never expected to happen, ever. Actually, now that I thought about it, I had completely forgot about—no—I simply ruled it out of my head as something that wouldn't happen.

What came out wasn't a propeller with four blades, but six.

I could tell it was an excellent shot. It was far faster than any other I had pitched sense I got here; even in my stunned state of surprise I could realize that. The new attack whizzed forward and smacked him right in the upper part of his back, shattering on impact. The force ripped right through clothing and skin, and with a roar of pain, Jango fell forward…

"Oni Giri!"

-SLASH-

…Where Zoro used his most prominent attack on him.

Zoro passed between the gap of Jango's legs with both swords held outward from him and his best sword clenched in his mouth. As for Jango, I could see to large gashes on both sides of his waist, each spurting blood like a fountain.

Jango took one step forward, then another, before finally crumbling down into the beach like a timbering tree, hopefully unconscious.

_That was so sweet! _I thought with a grin, even as my Fullbring deactivate, the black swirl of Spiritual Energy evaporating. My Combat-Pass slipped from my fingers and fell from my grasp. _I didn't think that I'd be able to do something like that this early on, _I fell to my knees in exhaustion, _and here I thought it would've taken until around the time we got Sanji. _Well, I've been wrong before since I came here, might as well be wrong again.

I suddenly lost balance and fell backwards, my legs falling out from beneath me as I laid on the ground, looking up into the deep blue sky. Whatever adrenaline was left in my system must've ran out, because I began to notice just how shitty I felt.

I mean, knew it was _bad_, but I felt outright horrible. The many different bruises, scrapes, and gashes, were taking their toll. Then there was my most likely sprained ankle. My head was swimming, along with the contents in my gut; I felt nauseous even. Everything hurt.

_But with Jango out of the picture, things should start to wind down._ Jango played a big part in the plan. With out his hypnotic abilities, he can't hypnotize Kaya into signing over her money to Kuro, his plan was pretty much blown.

"Hey Patrick," I heard a voice yelling at me, coupled with the sound of running, "Are you ok? God, they did a number on you." I tried to at least turn my neck A figure was now standing over me, casting a shadow on top of my battered body. Who was that? "Hey are you still alive in there? Don't go dying on me!"

My pupils adjusted and I saw… Nami. Y'know what fuck it. I'm too tired to mope and bitch about her. I've had a shitty day. A really _shitty_ day, and I just want to get the Going Merry and leave, preferably by tomorrow.

"I'm—*Cough Cough*—ok. M'jst exhausted is all." I croaked out. I turned my head to look behind her, trying to catch the sight of Luffy and Kuro's fight but I didn't exactly have a good angle. I looked back up at her, a look of concern on her face. "So—*Cough*—how're you?" I questioned her.

"How am I; have you looked in a mirror recently?"

"N-No, but I… bet I look like shit."

"Yeah, that's pretty close."

"Thought so." I mumbled out. "So where's Usopp?" I hadn't scene him, so he was either hiding or doing something else.

She blinked twice before her eyes widened and she cried out. "OH CRAP, USOPP!" While it wasn't exactly nice to have Nami screeching her head off right by my head, the fact that she now had both hands gripping her face in worry did not bode well.

"Nami, what happened?" I asked her. I could feel a lead ball travelling down to my stomach as I imagined the worse. Usopp with broken bones, Usopp with his leg severed, Usopp ending up like _Sham_. Our soon-to-be sniper had surely been through all sorts of horrible injuries in later episodes, but seeing them up-close and personal, in _real _life… I'm not sure my stomach could handle that.

"While Luffy and that cat bastard started fighting, some of his goons decided to climb the cliffs and get to the village," she told me, "Usopp went off after them, I tried to stop him, but it was a little to late."

I let out a breath at that. Good, our Pinocchio knockoff wasn't dead; I was safe from having a guilty conscious. On top of that, who knew what mighty blow the plot would've taken if he had croaked.

_Wait, what about Kaya? _I thought. My many near-death experience today had made any thoughts on the sickly maiden non-existent. Near-death experiences usually do that though so who was I to be blamed. _Shouldn't she have come already; in the anime she did. _She threatened Kuro with a gun, then Usopp took a blow for her…they ran into the forest… and… and…

_Ahh fuck it, _I told myself. _I pretty much screwed over the entire plot for this arc; relying on any information from the plot now is useless. _I guess the only thing I can do now is sorta' wing it and hope for the best.

"Well that's swell." I mumbled. In an attempt to get up, I slowly sat up. But a sharp pain in my back made me quit with a cry of pain.

"Don't try to get up you idiot," Nami scolded, "You look nearly half-dead as it is; don't do anymore damage than you need to."

"Yeah whatever…"

That's when I heard the patter of feet in the sand again, before I was able to see Zoro standing close by. He had removed his bandana and had sheathed his swords.

"What's with the screaming?" He asked the both of us.

"Some pirates went to the village and Usopp followed him." Nami explained again. A look of frustration came on his face before he let out an aggravated sigh.

"Great, out of one mess and into another," he grumbled before he took a second to curse out Usopp for being an idiot. I would've too, but I wasn't exactly in the shape to do anything really. "Why would they go anyways?"

"Maybe it's—*Cough Cough*—like some kinda' last hope," I said in between coughs, "They think that if they try to finish his plan that maybe he'll let them live," I guessed, not that it would work. Kuro would have killed them anyways though, not that I cared.

"Zoro go after Usopp and stop those pirates!" Nami said in a demanding tone to our green-haired swordsman. He tried his best to argue back, saying stuff like 'You're not the boss of me lady!' or something. But in the end Nami was victorious.

"Find dammit!" He said before he ran off out of my peripheral vision. "You idiots stay here while I take care of that long-nosed moron!"

_I wonder how he's gonna' get passed Luffy and Kuro? _I thought to myself. _Maybe he'll do that thing he did back in Orange Town when he climbed that building. _I was thrown from my thoughts when the sudden return of the pain in my right ankle brought me back.

God please don't let my ankle be broken, not when I was just about to take on Don Krieg and his goonies in the next arc! I really didn't need broken bones in this universe or Darwinism will murder my ass faster than light!

_Why am I the only that has to be like this? _I thought with rising frustration. _Zoro was thrown around and beaten up much worse than I was _(He was pimp-slapped into the fucking cliff) _and don't even get me started on Luffy!_

Luffy was put through all different types of torturous things throughout the entire story, things that would've killed him if it weren't for his tenacious will (Plot Armor) and his believe in protecting his _nakama_ (I'm just gonna' call this Plot Armor too), he probably would've died.

Those thoughts got me thinking even more.

Luffy was a monster that could dish out a world of pain and take just as much because of his rubber body; soon he'd be able to take out entire armies just by thinking it. Zoro was a master swordsman who could use three swords all at once. In two years, he'd be one of the greatest swordsman in the world.

As for me, I was weak. If things kept going on like they are now, I might—no, I _knew_—I would die!

We would be facing against monster like Crocodile as soon as we get in the Grand Line, and after we were going to be fighting against a god (In name that is)! I could not live through that!

I did _not _want to _die_.

"I really need to start working out." I grumbled to myself.

"What did you say?" Nami asked.

"Nothing."

Though my words were short and simple, they held a lot of weight. I would have to start training. I would have to work on controlling my Spiritual Energy – I'd have to learn Bringer Light and to control the souls of objects around me too. Then after all that I would evolve it and become a kickass motherfucker that takes names!

I wasn't about to get walked over by everyone here, not when I had the actual power to do something about it!

Also because I like living, and breathing, and usually things not associated with my death.

I trailed back to Nami who was still by me. I idly noted that, remarkably, she didn't have a single mark on her. How did that happen? Originally she would have been fairly injured when trying to save Luffy, so what happened differently?

"Hey Nami," I croaked out after taking a deep breath, "Where exactly were you the entire time this was going on?" I asked.

"Oh me," Nami said, "I was hiding on those pirate's ship?" oh well that makes—hold on what?

"Wha-What?" I said with evident shock in my tone of voice. She had been on the ship, this whole time?! While the rest of us were nearly getting ourselves killed (Hell, even Usopp participated) Nami was safe and sound?!

That is so unfair!

"Oh yeah. While you two were fighting that freaky hypnotist," she took a moment to point to the direction of where I guessed Jango's unconscious body was, "I made my way onto the ship!"

"That's so unfair!" I cried out weakly in outrage. How dare this bitch do that!

"Hey, I'll have you know that it wasn't easy for me either!" She shot back. What Nami, did you break a fucking nail? Maybe you stubbed your toe?! I hope you stubbed your toe; I hope it hurt, like a lot! "I had to take out a couple pirates that were hiding on the ship!"

Oh well… I guess she helped a little?

"Besides that, they didn't have an ounce of treasure on the ship!" She commented in frustration. "All I found was like 5000 berri!"

Y'know what Nami, fuck you. _Fuck. You._

"Well boohoo Nami." I grumbled tiredly. I was starting to feel a bit faint.

"Yeah, well whatever." Nami said. Her eyes widened for a second before she spoke again. "What happened to your pendent?" She questioned.

"Y'know what, who cares." Great, so I lost my treasure, meaning that I lost the money I was gonna make once I got back to my world (If I ever got back that is).

"HEY LET GO OF ME YOU LITTLE SHIT STAIN!"

"HAH! NO WAY! LIKE I'D EVER DO THAT!"

_That sounds like… _My thoughts began to trail off. Yes, that sounded like Luffy and that cat bastard. What was happening?

_Ok, that's it. I'm tired of laying down._

"Nami," I called out to our navigator, "Help me sit up."

She let out a confused 'Huh?'.

"I want you to sit me up! I want to see what's happening!" I lamented in a more forceful tone.

"Ok, ok! Geeze." She grumbled out.

The next thing I knew I felt her hands grasp my shoulders and slowly pull me up. Every fiber of my being groaned against it but I denied it as pushed past the pain and pulled my legs in so I was sitting more comfortably.

When I was finally up I was finally able to see everything. My eyes first landed on Jango, who had shrunken down to his normal, skinny size with bloodstained sand around him. I was just beginning to wonder if he was actually dead.

_Nah._ I hastily told myself hastily. He was probably ok.

My eyes then dragged themselves over to the main attraction here; it was the fight between the two captains here. Luffy had rapped his entire body around Kuro. His legs had rapped around his legs like tentacles keeping him immobile. Luffy's arms had also done the same with his arms too.

"Wow your life really sucks doesn't," He commented in a cheery tone that I was just able to hear over the distance.

"LET GO OF ME YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Kuro cried out once more

It was at this moment, the Black Cat pirates began to converse amongst themselves. They talked about how if that "Goofy Kid" manages to beat Kuro, then they won't be slaughtered.

So they began to cheer for Luffy.

"YEAH! GET HIM YOU CRAZY RUBBER GUY!"

"YOU CAN DO IT!"

"TAKE DOWN THAT BASTARD!"

It was kinda' pathetic in my opinion.

Luffy also thought it was pathetic too.

Whatever Kuro had been roaring at Luffy was suddenly cut off as he slammed his head into his face (And from what I could see, his nose. Ouch) before he suddenly swung his head back.

I was a little startled though when his head stretched back, his head like a fishing lure and his neck the line. It stretched backwards until he cleared the whole distance down to where the Black Cat Pirates had gathered. He was looking at them upside down with a snarl.

"SHUT THE HELL UUUUUUUUP! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CHEER ME OOOOOON!"

They sure shut up to say the least.

And for some reason, I could feel something build up inside of me. It was a mixture of both happiness and excitement, like butterflies in my stomach. I felt like saying something to him, yelling something at him.

So I did just that, at the top of my hurting lungs.

"LUFFY! FINISH THAT BASTARD OFF ALREADY!"

Speaking made my throat feel soar and I felt out of breath. But my call was not for nothing. Luffy had heard it and sent a large grin my way.

"Alright, here we go!" He said as his head finally retracted back to his body with a rubberized yank. "GUM GUM-"

"NO," Kuro yelled with irrepressible wrath covering each word that slipped out. "I WILL NOT HAVE SOME SNOT-NOSED BRAT DEFEAT ME!" His glare was menacing, but that wouldn't stop my rubber captain as his head gained more velocity.

"MY PLAN—"

Luffy was closing in on him.

"—WILL NOT BE—"

10 meters… 5 meters… 1 meter. I licked my lips I anticipation.

"—DISRUTPED!"

"—BEEEEEEL!"

-BAM-

Honest to god, I could here the fleshy, bone-breaking smack as Luffy's head mad contact with Kuro's. The force of the strike untangled Kuro from Luffy and they both went flying back before falling into a pile of limbs.

The surrounding area was quiet, like an empty graveyard with not a single source of life. No one dared to make a single movement or utter a single word. All we did was wait in anticipation for something to happen, anything from the to downed fighters. The atmosphere here was like smog. It was so thick you could cut right through it with a chainsaw.

But I had on a small grin. Despite the situation at hand, I wasn't worried in the least. I had no doubt in my mind that we would win – that Luffy would win – and that Kuro would go down.

The plot went far in protecting the people it was supposed to.

So I was pretty pleased when I saw Luffy getting back up.

He stood over Kuro, looking down at him. I heard the pirate goons murmur amongst themselves again. They were in awe and that Luffy had defeated the famous "Kuro of a Thousand Plans."

And then one of them had the idea of asking the corniest line ever.

"Just… Just who are you?!"

Luffy was still like a stone statue for a few seconds before he slowly turned his body around to look down on them with a heavy glare. I was sure glad that it wasn't aimed at me though, it looked like it come melt steel.

It was times like these that remind that Luffy was a complete idiot and that most people thought he was and that he can become quiet serious in battle. This loveable captain of mine was such a strange guy. He was willing to do anything for his friends, literally _anything._

And I'd admit a little that it touch mine cold heart a little.

"My name is Monkey D. Luffy," he started off with. "The only time a pirate should abandon his name is when he dies. I would never lose to a coward who ditches his name, betrays his friends, and runs from life on the sea." His stern glare was suddenly washed away from his face and was replaced by jolly smile fool of teeth.

"You should remember my name for the rest of your lives. Because one of these days, I'm gonna' be king of the pirates!"

His words were full of vigor as he stated that claim. Many others that travelled the oceans had as well, though with false bravado. I guess that was another one of his good qualities too. His ability to simply not care for what others thought and his inability to feel fear. Those odd traits melded together to form the kind idiot Luffy is. Thanks to Shanks influence on him, he now wanted to become the Pirate King, something that most would call idiotic.

But, I really didn't have that much of a problem with that. I actually sorta' liked Luffy's pigheadedness, a little.

The pirates were frozen in disbelief, either in shock of his announcement or still over the fact that Kuro had lost. But either way, he mesmerized them.

"Now," Luffy grunted out while picking Kuro's unconscious body over his shoulder, GET OUT OF HERE!" He roared simultaneously while throwing him. His unconscious body soared through the air before he landed in the middle of the group of pirates knocking down a few of them.

But the message was made crystal clear, Luffy wanted them _gone_.

So they made themselves scarce, like bats out of hell.

They stampeded towards there ship, screaming in panic and fear as they did their best to get upon it. Thankfully, we were not in their way as we would've been trampled; our position right now as just to the left of them. They climbed upon their ship as fast as possible, using any means they could to get on deck.

I was able to spot Luffy amongst the squabble, staying still in his original spot. He was motionless for a moment before he swayed slightly. Then he toppled forward with no balance.

I think Nami saw it too, because the next thing I knew I was flopped down upon the beach when Nami let go of my limp body. I'll admit it hurt my head a little, but it was nothing compared to everything else, so I ignored it. I was able to make out Nami's cry of 'Luffy!' over the other pirates panicked shrieks, but I didn't really care.

The amalgamation of screams was beginning to fade from my ears. Strange, why was that happening? The pain was slipping away from my nerves too leaving only leaving only the warm rays of the sun for my body to bask in. My sight was blurring away to a blank canvas as everything evaporated to black.

Soon everything was gone; everyone was gone; nothing was left, leaving me peacefully oblivious.

… _So peaceful…_

* * *

**Hey there everyone, how are all my followers/readers/viewers doin'? Good? Good! **

**By the way, sorry for not posting for a **_**long **_**time. I had shit to do, shit to see, shitty people to see; I think you all get the drill. So yeah, just life throwin' a curveball at me is all. But not to worry, I shall continue on ahead valiantly!**

**So if you've been reading at the top I shall be going back into my older chapters an fixing/changing some stuff that I found stupid now that I've taken the time to reread it and now think it's stupid. So yeah, I'll fix it. Don't worry boyos I'll get on the job.**

**So bye. Nigris Out.  
**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hello there ladies and gentleman! Boys and girls! Animals and insects! Other form of life and inanimate objects! Welcome to the 17****th**** chapter of Faker! Isn't this exciting, I finally posted my 17****th**** chapter of this story, will quiet the number of viewers, isn't that just wonderful?! I'm a competent writer, with a competent story!**

**Now for spoilers**

**As I've said in the last chapter, will not be giving Patrick any Devil Fruit powers. For one, that would make him way too OP later in the story, and he'd also have these weaknesses that I just wont feel comfortable with. I'm **_**really **_**trying not to make Patrick a Gary Stu, because they are stupid. **

**So that means no Devil Fruit, no kicking Evil Boss booty (At least not for the beginning), no get women left and right (At least not for right now?), and no being super epic straight out of rabbit hole.**

**There's also another reason that I don't want to give him devil fruit powers, and Ranger Station Charlie points it out in his review.**

"_Good fight, if converting spirit energy to a one piece it's the equivalent of will power and manifesting it into reality. At least that is what haki in one piece is to me being able to impose your own iron clad will into reality. Right now Patrick is the their best defense against logia fruits."_

**And while this is in no way grammatically correct, it points out exactly what I wanted. Haki/Will Power is basically the same thing as Spiritual Energy. I first had this idea when I read over Busoshoku Haki/Armament Haki where one covers themselves in their "spirit", which is similar to Hierro or how ****when two spiritual beings collide, the side with weaker spiritual pressure will get hurt. Or how about Haoshoku's Haki/Conqueror's Haki is similar to someone releasing their Spiritual Energy on someone weaker, which could knock them out.**

**That's what I think anyways, but whatever.**

**I'm also trying to make this as super realistic as possible. I mean, when a person is randomly inserted into some unknown place/fictional world, they aren't going to cheer and become super happy and excited and stuff. They're going to freak…hard. So I'm trying to take that into consideration when writing this story along with other factors. That's why I'm going to go back and fix a few things that I think are stupid.**

**Anyways, this chapter is going to be the ending of this arc, we will be transitioning to the next arc either next chapter (Which might be a filler) or the next. I still haven't decided. If you guys have any ideas you want to throw my way, don't be shy.**

**But lets not worry about that right now; let's just get on with the story, because I really want to finish this arc. Like really bad...**

**[Also, sorry that I forgot to put in the line spaces! Fixed that]**

**Chapter 17: Onwards! A New Horizon!**

* * *

I woke up in a mixture of comfort and pain, the latter coming second. My mind reeled as I tried to process what was going on. I was no longer outside on beach, under the scorching sun, and was now under a white roof laying on something soft and pleasant. A bed? Where was I?

I… Just what happened?

_I passed out… Luffy kicked Kuro's ass… Zoro and I kicked Berserk Jango's ass._ My brain was tossing out jumbled memories at me. But my delusioned thoughts were finally able to settle on one thing. _The fight with the Black Cat Pirates was over and they got their collective buts beat._

The amount of joy I felt was like a thousand burning suns! Finally, we were done; we were finally done with this stupid arc and this stupid island! We can get the Going Merry and _leave_. Luck is on my side this time! Thank you Luck Gods for raining your blessings upon my face! Because fuck this island with a crowbar.

I yawned before bring my eyes up to look at the ceiling. Ok, I was over-exaggerating just how much I hate this island. Maybe I just hated it because of the bad experience of me being tired as hell and getting the everlasting shit kicked out of me—

—Or maybe I just didn't have enough fiber in my diet! I don't know, this place just pissed me off right now!

My eyes were involuntarily glued to the ceiling as I went over everything from yesterday. There was the fight, Sham's death, and Jango gaining the power of a body-builder on steroids. A thin frown was put on my face; my eyes glared into the white ceiling.

Then I blew out a sigh.

"Yesterday was a complete and utter mess," I croaked out.

I had never been more terrified in my life yesterday, and I don't think that my pants were a little damp because I was sweaty.

No, that wasn't the right word, it was more like a complete shitstorm personally crafted from Satan's butthole! I knew that it would be tough and that I was probably not going to get out of it completely unharmed, but I didn't expect _that_!

Because of me and my meddling, Jango got Hulk Hacks! Because of _me_, Jango gained the ability in the past to bulk up and crush people's skulls like eggs! I know, that sounds a bit farfetched, but how else do you explain it?! He didn't have that in the anime, hell, not even in the manga or any of the games! So basically my very existence here had caused some temporal/spatial bullshit that changed what happened in the past!

It was like a mathematical equation, and I was a random numeral that was shoved into it.

"Just fucking wonderful," I ground out through clenched teeth, "Even when I'm not trying to make major twists in the plot, it's still happening." But I guess I should've anticipated that right.

But still, knowing that was foreboding.

I was sure that things—either for the better or worse—were going to happen. Whether it was going to be an unknown enemy or ally, or simply a new opponent that would be apart of the future adversaries, they were going to happen.

And I could do nothing but let my mind torture me as I imagined what horrors could come.

_Oh god, I hope it isn't anything too bad._ A grimace came upon my face. I've scene the fanfiction, so I knew what to expect! _Hey,_ _seeing as I have Fullbring, there are probably Hollows too. _I meant that as a quick joke to ease the tension in my head, but now that I thought about it, were there Hollows?! Great! Just _FUCKING _fantastic! That just made things even better! Not only would I have to deal with the dangers of this world, but evil spirits also; FUN!

My face took on a look of fear. If Hollows were real, did that mean that Soul Reapers... Shinigami… I'll just stick with Soul Reapers just for translation sakes—but did that mean they existed? Did the existence of my powers bring the fictional beings from Tite Kubo's world to reality; Soul Reapers, Hollows, Quincy, Bounts?

_GOD DAMN IT THIS IS DRIVING ME UP THE WALL!_

I glared into the ceiling, hoping it would somehow catch fire. I took a few deep, calming breaths, even though they did jack diddley. But I did me best to clear my head of all thoughts. Le sigh, letting my mind wander as I lay in this bed really worked me up.

…Ok, time to find out just where I was.

I tried shifting around in, what I could only guess was a bed, before I realized that doing so was a bad idea because it made my aching body feel pain. Pain was bad; I had that fact beat into my head yesterday. But I was way to stubborn to give up! I wanted to know just what was going on.

After a few minutes of shifting beneath the covers I was finally able to sit up with a groan of pain.

I was in a nicely sized room, sitting in a soft bed. It was full of expensive looking furniture such as a full-body mirror, a wooden table, a dresser, and a nightstand to my left. Craning my neck around let me see blue sky from a window behind me, decorated with velvet drapes.

As for me, I had been all but put into a sarcophagus. I was mummified from head to toe in bandages, only leaving my face uncovered. Surprisingly, there were no casts, something I was sure the beating yesterday would've given me. Checking under the covers I found myself with a black shirt and brown pants.

_I was just getting attached to those old pirate clothes…_I thought jokingly before I realized a horrible fact. I had been wearing the same clothes for the past three days; clothes I had nabbed off a pirate who probably didn't have the best hygiene! _Yuck, yuck, yuck! _

My inner-germaphobe was now channeled. Now that I thought about it, I hadn't taken a shower in ages! When was the last time I put on deodorant, or brushed my teeth? Hell, when was the last time I was in the general vicinity of _soap_?

A quick whiff of my armpit told me quite enough.

I guess the whole getting thrown into another universe and nearly having my life ripped from me made me forget all forms of hygiene. Bad Patrick, no treat for you!

But on a more serious note, I really wanted a shower badly.

-SLAM-

I was just about to swing my legs over the side of the bed when the door to my room slammed open and smacked against the wall it was attached to. My head whipped around just in time to said a fat boulder of flesh trying to squeeze itself through. After watching it struggle for a few minutes, it pushed right through and fell onto the wooden floors with a mighty smack.

At that moment I realized that it wasn't just any fat mound, it was a Luffy fat mound.

Luffy's entire body had expanded passed normal means. His entire torso was bloated like a ball. No, I did not mean obese; his entire torso was round like a fucking ball and his arms, legs, and head were still the same, giving a disproportioned look. Clutched in his right hand was—yep, you guessed it—a large leg of some fowl that looked a too big to be natural.

Honestly, I should've been weirded out by all this but…I couldn't really compare much of it to what I've seen so far now could I?

Luffy let out a grunt as his form wobbled against the wooden planks that made the floor. I could here them groan against Luffy's wait. After a moment of watching, still utterly confused at the sight, I decided to actually speak up since this entire debacle started.

"Uh…do you need some help down there Luffy?"

Good going Patrick.

"Ugh… no… I think I… erg… I think I've got it!"

In the end, Luffy managed to roll himself onto his stomach before using his hands to push himself to his feet. After wobbling around for a center of gravity he gave me one of his classic, super cheesy grins.

"Hey Patrick! Your finally awake, that's great!"

I gave a small grin in return. "I'm more happy to believe alive after the shitstorm yesterday," I answered in truth.

"Really, I thought it was sorta' fun!" You need a rain check on your definition of 'fun' Luffy.

"So uh, Luffy. What happened yesterday?" I began with the most important question I could think of, and Luffy was more than happy to kill my curiosity.

He must've been really excited because what came out of his mouth was complete gibberish. His mouth moved over 100mph as he stuttered and spit out butchered words in his excitement. Sometimes he would take a moment to take a bite from his mutant bird leg before continuing which would send food bits everywhere (Praise the Higher Powers for me being on the other side of the room). But he finished, and I was able to get the gist of what he said.

After Kuro got his but kicked and the Black Cat Pirates retreated with their tails between their legs. Everyone was all happy and cheery and travelled back to Kaya's mansion where they had a big ol' party while I was being patched up by whoever… maybe a local doctor.

"You missed the biggest party, like ever," Luffy said after finishing his meat, "There was meat and beer, and she had these tiny little cakes—but they looked more like sandwich things though!"

Luffy went on to describe the part and how they had a great time while I was passed out in bed. He told about how Zoro and Nami got into a drinking challenge and now he's in debt! There was also something about how Usopp getting super drunk and was now awake, with a hangover.

_That… really pisses me off. _I thought to myself with a displeased look.

While I was up here, being a glorified mummy, they were down there having the _fucking _time of their lives! I mean, how do I even began to comprehend the anger I feel about that?! It made me feel so frustrated, but even if I wanted to go, I wouldn't be able to do shit about since I was half dead and unconscious!

I'm just so… gah!

They could have at least told me was whatI tried told myself in my head… even though it wouldn't have worked.

"Oh my god I almost forgot!" Luffy suddenly thrilled state doubled as he bounced on the balls of his feet. This only made the situation weirder as his large mass swayed back and forth. Jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jiggle, jig—

"The most awesome thing happened today!"

"H-Huh," I replied while ripping my eyes away from his jiggling mass. "What did ya' say Luffy?"

"Were you even paying attention?" He questioned, his sudden animated attitude gone.

I blinked twice at him before clearing my throat and said, "I was… lost in thought," to some how cover up my fascination of his blubbery body. It was _so _weirdly enticing. Like picking at a scab!

"So what were you saying Luffy?"

"Uh, well you'll never believe it?!" Luffy suddenly rebounded back to his excitement.

"What is it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Usopp's Rich Friend said she was going to give us a ship!"

I raised an eyebrow trying to look as surprised as possible. "Really? That's great!" I said with unnoticeable, false excitement. "So did she anything else about it yet; have you seen it?" I questioned him about the Going Merry to play along with the act.

"Nope! Nothing yet! The Rich Lady said she was having it loaded up with all kinds of meat food before we leave," a very pleased grin was plastered on his face as he thought about the many different delicious snackaroos onboard, "I wonder what tasty stuff going to be on there?"

A _lot_—and I mean an inhumanly unnatural amount—of drool leaked from his mouth and dripped from his chin in large rivulets. I could only stare in inaudible revulsion because _oh my god_! That was _disgusting_!

But I soldiered on to carry out the conversation.

"Um… well that's great," was what came out. "Now we just need a cook and we should be all prepared." So just kick some Don Krieg booty and serve up some Arlong chowder and we'd be all good.

"Don't forget about a musician," Luffy but in, "A pirate without a musician on his crew isn't much of a pirate in the first place!"

"I'm sure he'll be just as weird as the rest of out crew." I could feel a grin tug on my lips as I thought of Brook, our skeletal musician. I thought he was a little freaky looking in the anime, I can't even begin to imagine what he looks in person.

Same goes for Franky and his weird, cannon arms…thingies.

A sudden realization hit me. "Hey um, have you seen my Combat-Pass?" I asked. When I got a confused look I emphasized. "It's the wooden plack I use to fight." That got that broken motor in his head running.

"Oh! You mean your Mystery Plank?"

"Yes, my 'Mystery Plank,'" I answered back, "Have you seen it?" I tried to remember where I left it before I blacked out, but it just wasn't coming up. I'm pretty sure I dropped it after defeating Jango.

Luffy tapped his head as he thought with a look of extreme concentration. Then, with a shout of 'Oh yeah!' before he—and I swear on God's name—reached his pants, and pulled out my Combat-Pass.

No. Not a pocket on his pants. He literally reached a hand down the front of his _trousers_, and pulled out my Combat-Pass.

To say I was grossed out would be an underestimate.

"WHY THE HELL WAS THAT IN YOUR PANTS?!" I roared in disgust and outrage. My only form of power had been rubbing against the sweaty, elastic junk of my captain! What the fuck!

"Oh, I found it yesterday and decided to put in there for safe keeping!" He explained while patting his pants. Wait, did that mean that he had it in his pants the whole _fucking _time?! EW!

"YOU COULDN"T HAVE PUT IT IN YOUR POCKETS?!" I roared back, my momentary disgust replaced with outrage. I continued on with "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DISGUSTING THAT IS?!"

Luffy chuckled a little, finding my anger amusing. "Don't be such a big baby. Besides, it's all safe and so-mph!" I didn't let him finish his sentence as I chucked the ever-so-fluffy pillow I had been drooling on at his face. Hah, take that!

"SOME OF US ACTUALLY LIKE TO BE A BIT HYGENIC LUFFY!" I yelled.

"But you weren't all that bothered by it before; you haven't even showered in like three days."

"NEARLY DYING USUALLY DOES THAT!"

"Hehehehe! You're so grumpy today Patrick!" Luffy said as his chuckles became more pronounced and lively.

Instead of leading on with more yelling, I decided to end it with a huff of annoyance. As much as I wanted to continue on with the argument about how you shouldn't stick your friend's most important jewel in the world next to your most important jewels, I knew that it would get me no where. I would gain no ground trying to pierce through Luffy's adamantium skull.

Arguing with Luffy is like arguing with an autistic muffin.

Do you know what it's like arguing with an autistic muffin? Well, let's not venture down that road just yet.

"Here ya' go," Luffy said while tossing my contaminated Combat-Pass. I did not pick it up once it hit the bed. My fingers would not touch that infected thing until I gave it a proper scrubbing. Maybe give it a quick dip in bleach for safety's sake. "You should keep an eye on if it's so important to you."

"Trust me when I say that it won't happen again, _ever_." I would not allow this amazing treasure to be soiled like this again.

"Also, how does this thing work anyways?" Luffy asked. He went over and picked it up, eyes scanning its wooden form. "I sorta' thought it was a Devil Fruit first, but I don't think it is anymore."

Wow… That was rather surprising. I would have never thought Luffy of all people would say something that would sound so… smart. Luffy had an extreme lack of intelligence and was an overall goofball; things can easily confuse him. His brain was more hotwired towards fighting and beating things up.

So to see him say something like this is a little weird. Not unheard of, but still weird.

"You've been sorta' secretive about it too," he continued, "Is there some kinda' big secret behind it?" He questioned me curiously.

_Now that I think about it, I have been sort of secretive about my powers. _On my first day in this universe, I had told them it was a special power, but I don't think that cover story is going to last for long. _Why am I so paranoid about telling people about it in the first place? _I asked myself.

Well it was obvious: paranoia.

Paranoia was apart of me; it bled into my daily life, keeping me a little on edge about certain things. Whether it was an open closet door at night, or seeing something out of the corner of my eye, I would worry about it until something else came along to catch my anxiety

It wasn't all that bad. I wasn't exactly finger painting words onto a wall with my own blood, I just tended to worry and err on the side of caution. If I saw a door that I thought shouldn't be open I'd close it. If I caught something in the corner of my eye, I'd keep a watch out. If there was someone that I would find suspicious, my attention would be brought to him or her.

You see guys; it's not all that bad! No, I'm not going to pull a knife out and murder you're faces off with it!

But ever since I've come to this world, the One Piece universe, my anxiety has been at all-time high.

There were many dangerous and life-threatening things in this world. Things that could _literally _gobble me up like a snack. There were pirates, warlords, and eldritch sea monsters—_SEAr MONSTERS_! Bigger than the fucking Empire State Building and Gilgamesh and Vegeta's egos combined! There were people who could slaughter entire countries and rule over an entire populous like God. People who could become animals, people who can cut mountains in half, people who were freaks of nature—EVERYONE WAS A FUCKING MONSTER!

When you were a weakling living in a world full of monsters, you tending to feel small.

Let's not also forget the constant threat of me somehow accidently skewing the plot off course. I mean, at first I didn't really think about it too much, merely keeping in my head as something that could happen, but yesterday's events sure woke me up! I gave Jango super strength! So now I just don't have to worry about the upcoming horrors that waited for me, but also the aftershock of each of my actions!

But back to the fact of not explaining my "Powers," it's because I had this deep-rooted belief I already introduced so much mayhem into this world that I thought giving more stuff could send things out of control!

Good god that was completely illogical, but, I just couldn't help but worry! I was a big ol' worrywart; it was in my blood!

_But, is there a real reason too do that? _I questioned myself. _I already let it slip to Zoro, and knowing Luffy… _My mind trailed as I thought about the mental trauma Luffy would bring as he constantly questioned me. Not to mention after awhile I was sure it was going to get a little awkward for being so secretive. _So, should I tell them? How? When?_

I took a deep breath before letting it out. Ok then, I know what I'd do then.

"How about this Captain, as soon as we get on board our new ship I'll tell all of ya' how it works," I said.

He gave me a raised eyebrow. "Why's that?" He asked me.

"Well I'd rather explain it to you all at once," I said while scratching at an itch on my back, "There' quite a lot of things I got to go over with you all." That only seemed to annoy Luffy.

"Awww! Come on, I hate long explanations! Isn't there some way you can say it quickly?"

I wanted to say no, but that got caught in my throat. A thought sprouted atop my brain once I thought over Luffy's complaint. Wasn't there a quick, sure-fire way to explain it, to Luffy that is, as I wanted to explain the full capabilities of my powers. Luffy would probably forget all about anyways; he wasn't really one for understanding things.

I looked back up to Luffy—I looked him right in the eye—and explained to him as simply as possible.

"I have super ghost powers."

"WHAT?! THAT'S SO AWESOOOOOME!"

There it was again. Luffy looked at me with dropped jaw that hung a little lower than humanly possible, probably from his rubbery nature. His eyes had an unnatural gleam to it making it look like they were shining. It might've even felt a little good if Luffy wasn't easily mesmerized by everything.

"That's so cool! What else can you do?! Can you fly?! Do you breathe fire?! Can you—" And so for the next five minutes, Luffy continued on asked irrelevant questions about my powers. Well it could be worse; he hasn't asked me if I can po—

"Do you poop?"

"Yes Luffy… I can _poop_," I told him while pinching the bridge of my nose. Don't count your chickens until the hatch.

"Oh," he said, "Well still that's pretty cool!" A shit-eating grin came on his face. "I'm glad my First-Mate has such an awesome power!"

"That's right, the future Pirate King wouldn't have anything less than the best right?"

"Yep! That's right!"

"Well it sure seems like you too are having a good time," a voice spoke up from behind Luffy's obese form, "I'm glad to see you are also up too Mister Falso." Whoa, whoa, whoa. Whoa! WHOA! Who the hell just said my last name; how the hell does someone know my last name?

Luffy's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, as were mine. He waddled to the left, his large form undulating with each step, to reveal a new man who stepped into the room with a kind smile. I instantly recognized him at that moment as the man responsible for the birth of are ship. It was easy to recognize him, from his nice suit to his fleece like hair and the horns protruding from it.

Merry, Kaya's loyal servant, walked in and a rich delicious smell reached into my nostrils. Gripped in his fingers was silver tray that held an assortment of breakfast cuisines that made me realize just how hungry I was. Toast and butter, bacon, eggs; they look delicious, like the stuff out of commercials.

"Good morning to you Mr. Falso," Merry greeted me with a small bow before turning to Luffy, "Hello to you as well."

"Hey Goat Guy!" Luffy greeted back, giving him one of his horrible nicknames.

But Merry just took in stride, not in the least put-off by the nickname. Damn that guy is good.

"I'm glad to see you're up Mister Falso," he told me, "You gave us quite the scare yesterday when your friends brought you in battered and bruised." Merry's kind smile grew.

"I… um, thanks." Each word came out a little unsure and awkward. "Excuse me, but how do you know my last name?"

"Oh, during last night's party, I overheard a conversation about you and heard your name," he bowed once more, "If it makes you uncomfortable, I can simply refer to you as Sir if you like."

I gave you an apologetic grimace. "U-Um no, it's fine. I was just a bit curious." There goes my paranoia again. Really got to rain that thing in. "So what brings you here?" I asked him.

"Breakfast of course!" Well, I should've guessed that. I am such dummy. "You hadn't eaten in quite some time, so Miss kaya asked the chefs to cook up a meal for you to have once you were awake."

_Oh, how kind of her! _I thought. Kaya sure was a sweet gal! It made me a little envious that she had the hots for Usopp. Ok not really, but what a lucky guy our cowardly sniper is.

Merry walked over to my side carefully set the tray of delicious food down on my lap. My lap instantly became warm as the heated metal of the tray made contact but I didn't mind. The absolutely scrumptious food before me was calling to my stomach! It needed it!

My stomach basically roared out 'GIMME DAT FOOD BITCH!' as I took a fork in hand and began to start on some eggs. This was good, top quality food! Well that's to be expected, Kaya was a wealthy girl, so it's only obvious that all her food would be the best. She probably has some high-class chefs with a corny, French accent to cook her meals!

Oh who gives a shit right now! Food, meet my stomach! NOM NOM NOM!

My eyes spotted Luffy looking at my food like some hungry mutt. Oh no, he would not touch this food, I'd soon er fight him for it… or not since he could beat the ever-loving poo out of me—but my point still stands! I'm not giving him my food, I'm hungry; I haven't eaten since yesterday—well actually since the day before that but yeah, I was hungry.

"I'm not sharing my food Luffy. Get your own food," I told him while pulling my tray closer. I know that might've seemed a bit over exaggerated, but this was Luffy we were dealing with! I'm sure that someone else in my situation would've done the same!

"Ah come on! Just share a little bit with me! Please!" Luffy pleaded with sad look my way. "At least let me have the bacon!" I replied by stuffing some bacon in my mouth. "What kind of crewmate doesn't even share his food with his captain?"

"The hungry kind," I replied with before going back to my meal. Yum-yum.

"You suck Patrick," he patted his stomach and said to me, "Now I'm gonna' starve!" Of course you will, and I'll become the leader of Mars.

But Merry took care of that also. He explained how everyone was heading right over to the restaurant in the village. Luffy took that as his queue to leave, and squeezed himself out of the door. I could here him chanting 'Food! Food! Food! Food!' as he ran out.

It was kinda pathetic how easily he could be swayed by food.

"By the way, could I have a moment of your time to check over your injuries?" Merry asked. I took a moment to look at him with a bit of uncertainty. Apparently (From what he explained) he was the one who bandaged me up; since Kaya usually got very sick on daily basis, he would usually be the one to take care of her. I kindly agreed, and set my finished meal on the nightstand.

Merry was quick and efficient. Though I admit it was awkward and a bit embarrassing, he was professional about it, not in the least embarrassed. He checked me all over, hands roaming across the injured areas of my body. In the end of it all, to my surprise that is, he removed my bandages.

"So, how am I?" I asked while standing next to my bed rubbing my shoulder. Damn the aching pain; damn Sham and Jango! "I was sure that after the beating I took, I would've been in a bed for at least a week." More like paralyzed from the neck-down getting fed through a straw.

"Well, when you were brought in, you were in quite the mess," he explained while dumping my dirty bandages in a trash bin, "You had many serious injuries that would have required a doctor." Uh oh, that didn't sound good. "There were many muscles in your arms and legs that had been torn." Yep, not good. "You also had a slight concussion and badly sprained ankle." How was alive you ask? Plot Power? Definitely Plot Power.

"So how am I ok?" I asked. The word 'ok' was a far stretch of what I was right now, but I could stand and nothing felt broken so that was good. "From what you said, I should've been staying in bed."

"That's an underestimate," Merry told me with a frown, "You should still be bedridden for at least a week." especially with that sprained ankle."

"Was it really that bad?" I asked him. I was able to walk on it, so I would have thought in wouldn't be.

"I was actually thinking of calling the town's doctor to take a look at you," he said with a frown, "But to see you up so soon… this is quite the surprise I must say."

_So not only do I have Fullbring, but I have regenerative powers too? _I thought as my eyes drifted to my arm. I clenched and unclenched my fingers. _Geeze, things are getting weirder and weirder by the day. _What's next; do I have Devil Fruit powers too? Maybe Unlimited Blade Works? Am I a Kryptonian too? _That sure as hell would make things easier on my life. _I joked in my head.

"But it's still quite nice to know that you're in good health," he said with his pleasant smile, "It would be quite the shame if you were to die." I could only look with perplexity when Merry suddenly bowed. "I thank you—and your crew—for saving this town and more importantly Ms. Kaya."

"I um… really there's no need for you to—" I was suddenly cut off by him.

"If it wasn't for you and your crew, Syrup Village would be burning by those damnable pirates and Ms. Kaya would be dead by that bastard," Merry said with a venomous tone. "While everyone else was unmindful about the situation, you were all there to protect us; you all stepped up to the plate to stop them and put your lives on the line," his bow deepened, "I feel that even bowing and thanking as I am now is not enough."

"Really, it's alright." I said while waving off his gratitude with reddened cheeks. Who wouldn't be embarrassed; I was being thanked for saving a town! This was almost like some corny thing that happens after the superhero saves the day! It was almost worth all he injuries I—ok they weren't worth the hell I went through at the beach but still, it felt pretty good! "I-I'm glad I helped you."

He looked back up at me and spoke again. "Even so, if you even need anything, then please ask away!"

I was going to say 'No', but that was suddenly caught in my throat as I realized something very important. I was in the home of a very kind, generous girl, who wanted to personally thank us for saving them.

And it so happened that this mansion had something that I needed very much so.

"You wouldn't happen to have a shower, would you?"

* * *

I walked through the gates of Kaya's mansion with a pleasant smile on my face. I heard the mansion's gates close behind me with a 'clank' as I stared out at the lush surrounding around me. The grass was so _green_ and the sky seemed so _blue_; there was just enough clouds out just to make it seem prefect! It was warm out but a gentle breeze kept things cool and whistling in my ears.

Birds chirped, squirreled scurried, flowers… flowered.

_Today is such a nice day, _I thought while my smile grew, _I feel like 100% today! Nothing can ruin this great day! _My eyes followed a pair of birds that glided alongside each other. Were they in love? Maybe, who wouldn't be in love on such a majestically beautiful day!

Now I know what you're all thinking, and I'm putting it out here right now: I'm not high.

The reason I was so happy is because after so long I had taken a shower! Yes, after so long I had taken a shower, and it was _glorious_! Seriously, it was; I felt as if I had been reborn into this world. I felt like an eagle soaring through the sky; I was the prettiest princess at the ball! I was a beautiful flower blooming in the summer sun!

Again. I… am… not… high. I was just _really_ refreshed.

I had been staying on a tiny boat for days. I was sweating my balls off, simultaneously dealing with an annoying Luffy, bitchy Nami, and lazy Zoro. Not to mention that I had to deal with the shitstorm battle yesterday that nearly got me killed!

So to say the shower was refreshing was an underrated. It was more like I was baptized if anything.

The shower was ornate and big! The shower was as large as my entire bathroom back at the dorm bathroom and the mirrors were the size of a large flat-screen TV! Their were so many soaps, and shampoos, and conditioners which—in the end—I just through my middle fingers to heavens and used each and everyone of them!

I had to! How the hell was I supposed to choose between pineapple and preach scented shampoos?!

Not to mention there was toothpaste and a toothbrush, something I gladly used! Deodorant too, and though not any of the brands I used, I gladly used it!

I was prim, proper, and above all else _clean_! That last thing was something I liked very much.

I readjusted the strap of the brown sack hanging from my shoulder. It wasn't anything special really besides its rather nice quality. It wasn't that, that made it important, it was its contents.

Before heading off from Kaya's mansion, I had met up with her in person. After I got her to stop thanking me, I asked her for a few things that would be relevant to my survival. They were soap, toothpaste and a toothbrush, some deodorant, and two changes of clothes. And Kaya was more than happy to help!

Every main character in just about every anime always seemed to where the same clothes. So either they had several pairs of the same clothing, or they decided to where the same pair of clothing every day. But seeing as no one had any form of luggage, I'd have to go with the latter of it. If that's true, than there is no way in the fourth level of Hell I was doing that!

I ended up in Syrup village minutes later. After a bit up searching and getting turned around, I managed to find the restaurant. I walked through the door and instantly spotted them. Nami seemed to be counting some money while Zoro was balancing on the back legs of his seat with a mug (Probably beer) in front of him. Luffy was doing what usually does, stuffing his face.

"Hey guys," I said with a wave. Luffy greeted me with a mouth full a food while Zoro gave a nod to my presence. I didn't even know if Nami noticed me as she was to busy counting her crash.

Money-grubbing bitch.

I pulled a seat up next to Zoro and Luffy, and set my bag down beside me. I mindful not to put my hands on the table because of the many empty dishes. Luffy you slob.

"Hey Patrick," Zoro said "Good to see up and about."

"Yeah, me too," I said while scratching my back. "I thought I'd be laying in bed after the shitstorm yesterday."

"What's with the bag?" Luffy asked after stuffing his face. He went to reach for it but a quick hand slap fixed that.

"It's _my_ stuff," I said with emphasis. "Kaya was kind enough to give me some stuff before we left this island." I used my leg to move my bag under my seat.

"Like what?" He questioned further.

"Well some clothes, a toothbrush, deodorant—"

"Oh ok, never mind then." Luffy then went back to his food. Well at least that saved me from explaining it.

"So what's this about you having ghost powers?" Zoro suddenly asked. I gave him a raised eyebrow before turning to Luffy went back to shoving his face. "Luffy came running in screaming about you having 'ghost powers' or something."

_Well there goes my plans._ I thought before sighing. _I was hoping to do when we got on the ship, but I guess I'll have to settle for now._

"Yeah, pretty much," I said while taking a deep breath. "I mean, that's a more simplified way of saying it." Fullbring was a rather complicated power with just about limitless potential. "It's called Fullbring; I'm a Fullbringer."

"You have _got_ to be joking." We looked over to Nami who was looking at me skeptically. "There are no such things as ghosts. Those are just things weirdoes and little kids believe in." Well when she says it like that…

"Well Luffy believes in it—"

"—He's Luffy—"

"—and I completely agree with that part," I continued, "But you have to admit that there is some pretty weird shit in this world, so it's possible." But Nami just huffed with a role of her eyes.

"So how does that piece of wood work?" I turned to look back at Zoro. "Is it some kind of talisman?" He asked me.

Oh well that was an easy question. "Well actually, the power comes from me using Fullbring to connect with the soul of my Pass and the Spiritual energy—"

"Ok! Now your just pulling this out your ass Patrick." Nami argued annoyed.

"Well whatever. Not like I care what you think," I grumbled out. "So, anything knew? I heard from Luffy that Kaya was giving us a ship." My words seemed to have an affect on both our swordsman and navigator as they looked at me with wide eyes.

"Wait, ship; Kaya's giving us a ship?" Nami questioned me and I nodded. "How come I didn't here about this earlier when we were talking with her?" I gave her a shrug, because I didn't know how to answer that.

"Luffy told me." I said and all our eyes were instantly on him.

Luffy was completely oblivious to our stares and kept digging into some pasta. It was only when he looked up for a second, greasy noodles hanging from his mouth, did he notice. There was a quick stare down before our captain sucked up the rest of his food with an obnoxious slurp.

"What is it?" He said curiously.

"Why didn't you tell us we were getting a ship?" Zoro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh… um," Luffy paused and tapped his chin, "I think it was supposed to be a surprise or something." He said. "I heard the rich lady talking about it earlier." Wait did he even know Kaya's name?

"So she's really giving us a ship," Zoro said, "Great, that saves our time trying to look for one!"

It was at that the person of conversion came walking in through the doors.

"There you all are!" Kaya spoke softly while walking over to our table.

"Is it ok for you to be out," Zoro asked, "You're sick right?"

"My illness these past years was due to my highly depressed state over my parents death. Usopp took so much effort to cheer me up..." She smiled gracefully. "I can't just remain that way I am any longer!"

I couldn't help but feel a small smile tug on my lips at her declaration, and neither could the others.

"I have caused you a lot of trouble," she said with a bow, "To thank you for your deeds, I have prepared a present for all of you!"

"Yes now we can final get ou-mph!" Luffy's words were cut off as I smacked him across the back of the head and told him to shush. Best not let her know we know about her "surprise".

"Please," I told her, "Continue." Her big doe eyes looked at me confused.

"I-I… ok then. If you would please fallow me down to the beach." She said while walking for the door.

We followed Kaya like ducklings following their duck mother. We all stayed silent but excited as we trailed behind her, and I admit that I was squealing like a schoolgirl inside. I was going to be setting my feet upon the Going Merry! Not some replica; it wasn't some boat for tourists to rid, but the _real_ Going Merry! SQUEEEEEEE!

One Piece Fans around the world could suck it!

Our patients had paid off as we finally arrived at our destination, the beach. There waiting for us was the beautiful caravel that would carry us along on our adventurous journey. Here she was, the Going Merry in all her glory.

"It's a caravel!" Nami called out happily.

"That's one amazing looking ship," I commented idly.

"Do you see the front! It's totally awesome!" Luffy, said in awe.

Zoro commented on how the figurehead looked dumb but Nami just told him to shut up.

"Please except this gift for everything you've done!" Kaya told us.

I had to admit, seeing it in person was quite the sight. Brown wood made up a large portion of the ship while other sections, such as the railing, had been painted white. The two masts had their sails down. That combined with the Going Merry's sheep figurehead gave it an almost fantasy-esque look. Like something out of well… I didn't want to say book because that was exactly what it was.

But it was still nice.

I tuned into the conversation and found out how she had gotten some servants to load it with the things we would need for our adventure. To bad she didn't know we had one Luffy, and pleasing his stomach is like feeding twenty something people on his own so hopefully he won't eat everything before we get to Sanji.

There was a loud wail that alerted us to Usopp's presence. He was rolling down a hill towards us because of his _massively _(On a ridiculous level) overstuffed backpack. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Welp, here comes Usopp," I said in a deadpanned voice, "Anyone want to stop him?"

Thankfully, Zoro and Luffy took the job like they originally did. They both got in his collision course and casually raised a foot. Face met foot, and Usopp completely stopped.

-THUMP-

"Th-Th-Thanks you guys!"

That was when Usopp and Kaya had their lovey-dovey thing. As nice as it was in the show, I didn't really have the heart for that stuff in real life; it was awkward. I was tempted to just go on the ship but decided against it and just waited it out.

So we all began to climb on the ship, except for Usopp. He said he'd see us later on our journey. Alright, time to get ourselves an Usopp!

"What are you talking about? Get up here already!" Zoro said.

"Get your Pinocchio butt up here Usopp!" I yelled out after.

"G-Guys…"

"Come on! We're already comrades Usopp!" Luffy yelled down at him. "So just get on!"

"I'm… I'm finally a pirate captain now!" He cheered happily while doing a victory jump.

"Don't be stupid! I'm the captain!" Luffy yelled.

That sent us all into hysterics, laughing our asses off.

We pulled Usopp on board and went out on our new adventure! Nami, being the only one to know how to navigate, commanded us on what do. Thankfully though, I was able to get out of doing anything serious and strenuous.

Despite the work, there was a soothing atmosphere surrounding us, and I couldn't help but keep a smile on my face.

It was only when we were miles away from the island, that Luffy made the decision to crack open a barrel of alcohol, have a toast, and party a little. And while I was nowhere capable at holding my beer, I wouldn't back down. I was feeling far to festive.

"TO OUR NEW FRIEND AND OUR NEW SHIP!"

"CHEERS!" We slammed our mugs together, the contents sloshing and spilling out. But we didn't care, we were to busy laughing and enjoying ourselves.

Things sorta' went out of control from there. Luffy had grabbed some raw ribs from the kitchen and was chewing on them. Usopp was singing some incomprehensible song with chopsticks stuck up each nostril. Zoro was leaning against the mast, chugging on a barrel of ale while Nami, being tamest, just settled on watching from the sidelines with a smile.

As for, I had set my mug in the on the railing and settled on staring out into the ocean.

_We sure have a long way to go, _I thought while leaning against the Marry's white railing. _After this is Sanji, then we gotta deal with Arlong. Then we venture into the Grandline. _That was a bit scary, thinking about all the terrifying things we'd have to deal with. _But there's nothing I can do. All I can do is train, and prepare._

And I'd do that. I'd get as strong as all fuck and kick everyone's but! I swears it!

I took up my mug and took a sip. I set it back down and smacked my lips.

"God I hate alcohol."

I hate it… like a lot… like seriously, a fuckton.

* * *

**Hey there everyone, how are you all! I haven't updated in some time, so I tried to at least update a chapter before the school year started. As to why I haven't… well I'm lazy. So fuck off. As for when I shall update, well ya got me, all I know is that I'll be posting before October. So expect a new one ok. Because I'ma' do it.**

**Favorite my story and leave reviews. If you have a question, personally send me a PM. **

**K… Bye.**

**P.S.: I'm changing something in the beginning**


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm back guys! You ready for the next chapter? Remember to favorite and review this story, it makes me happy!**

**Now before we start, I just want to let you know a few things. First, I will be going back to earlier chapters and fixing a few things up. It will mainly just some grammar problems and spacing, and also a few other things. But don't expect it soon, because my computer's f'd up. So until then, oh well.**

**But whatever, let's start.**

**Also, This chapter was spellchecked by Kenegi because there was some problems because me dumb-dumb. but he fixed 'em!**

**Chapter 18: Life at sea**

* * *

The night here was far more stunning than back home. This world didn't have problems like light pollution so I could see the night at it's brightest. The sky was a vast void of darkness. Stars twinkled in its background like white beacons from afar. The moon was big and lush, like the most beautiful pearl pulled from the deepest part of the sea. It radiated light like some bastardized sun, giving the ocean a glow that provided weary travelers light in this expansive mass of water.

AKA, me. It was dark as the bottomless pit that was Luffy's stomach when clouds blocked out the moon. I mean holy shit it was dark! But I guess that's what happens when there is literally no light source besides that.

The salty smell of the ocean was strong but not overbearing while calm waters reached my ears as they splashed against our ship's hull. The Going Merry rocked in an almost melodic way a mother rocks her crying infant to sleep. I could feel it pulling at my eyelids, but I stood defiant! I could not sleep at such a crucial moment of time!

Not to worry though! A quick brew of coffee—the nectar that was gifted from heaven—and I was up and about. Fuck yeah, go caffeine!

But on a more serious note, let's recap some stuff.

We had left Syrup Village nine days ago. We had painted our flag and sails because ,gosh, Luffy wanted a goddamn flag and Usopp was more than happy to help and the rest of us got pulled into it.

We would play games that Usopp had brought along with him. But nobody could beat him though. Blackjack, poker, goldfish; Usopp would always come out on top. But then we found out he'd been counting the cards and hiding some in his pockets. That went something like this…

"_GOD DAMNS YOU USOPP!"_

"_KYAAA!"_

_-SMACK-_

…Yeah, not his best day.

The cannon deck and storage area right under the kitchen was my room and would officially be my room. It was perfect as it was near the bathroom and there was enough room for activities in there. And while it was near Nami's room and she wasn't really comfortable with my presence there, we had come to an agreement over it. So I took a hammock from the guy's room and hung it from a pipe and grabbed a pillow and blankets to make it more comfortable.

Most of the OC's took the crow's nest but that was stupid. It was _really_ high up and there was not the slimmest chance in hell that I could climb the rope/ladder things to it. I would probably fall and break my leg! There was no chance I was sleeping with the guys either. It would get crowded when Sanji and Chopper joined and I needed some piece of mind from the insanity that was everything.

The coffee table had also become a part of my room. I didn't know what I could use it for yet, but I think it made it homey. Plus it gave me a place to put my essentials like my clothes and toothbrush.

Besides that, time on board gave me a "revelation" you could say. This revelation was that One Piece was a continued series, and that I did _not_ know the end of it because it was never finished. From my smog-covered memories, it was around the end of June (... I think ...), and Doflomingo had just been defeated by Luffy.

This sucked ass, because that meant once we passed that point I would be going in completely _blind_. But I found that to be an even bigger incentive to get to mastering my powers

So I kept my promise and worked on my Fullbringer powers. I spent my time controlling my Spiritual Energy. I would usually do things such as meditating. That wouldn't seem to do that much to a normal person but from all my experience with anime, I knew that meditating could bring a person's powers a long way.

For my Combat-Pass, I would shoot off propellers from the ship and into to see how many I could get before I'd pass out from spiritual exhaustion. Now I could shoot off propellers with bars ranging from three to five. Six bars I could do, but it took some time.

I had also been doing some physical workouts too. Some pushups, sit-ups, crunches, and stretches. Fullbringers use their power with their physical bodies, so I had to train extensively to build up my stamina so I can use it properly.

Considering the fact that I already had a major physical boost because I was in this universe, I could increase it further through this! I would soon break bedrock and smash tables with a single fist!

_Actually, I could probably take on Jessica now!_ I thought with a bit of excitement. Jessica was always good with her fists ever since we met in high school. When Jessica hit somebody it's lights out. She was taking boxing lessons, and I've seen her practice with the unlucky few. _But now I could probably beat her. _I thought with a pleased grin._ Oh how I'd saver the day when that happens._

But first I'd have too cross back over to my dimension, and I don't see that happening for quite some time.

"Ok, now's not the time to get my mind off track, it's time to focus," I told myself.

Tonight was the night to see the fruits of my labor.

I was sat crisscross on the Going Merry's deck with a simple wooden coffee table that I had confiscated from the ship's storage. Lying on top of its flat surface was a single glass half-full with water. The water ever so calmly shifted in its containment.

I rubbed my hands together in preparation. "Let's hope this all goes well," I mumbled. I put the tips of my fingers against the edges of the cup and took a deep, calming breath. "Attempt #17; let's begin," I talked to myself.

I called upon my Spiritual Energy with my "Mental Trigger", the circle technique, and felt my Spiritual Energy flow in response. Constant use of it made me realize that using it made it easier to use my Fullbringer powers.

I was calm, mentally commanding it to flow where I wanted in my body. After a few moments I pulled on it to my hand.

It seemed nine days worth of training had pulled off. My control of it was far better than Yesterday and the day before. My breath hitched when I saw a green light flow off my hand almost like liquid. My Hollow-based Spirit Energy shined nicely across my face. Awesome… So awesome.

_No, concentrate! _I told myself while regaining my attention. _I've made it this far the last couple times, but now came the hardest part._ The hardest part I had to connect and then manipulate the "soul" of the water. I knew that it would be the hardest part, as the last tries were complete failures. But the reason I chose this was because in the anime Ginjo used it as an example. So why not I try it.

I shifted my Spiritual Energy around and I guess you could say I, "filtered" it, into the water. The water glowed a dull green, and began to bubble.

"Now what?" I grumbled in thought, "I've used everything I know on Fullbring, so how do I connect with the soul of the water?" I scratched my head in annoyance. He it was again, yet another thing my scientific brain couldn't understand. I always was a sciency kind of guy.

So, how was the great Patrickini going to get himself out of this mess?

_Looks like I'm going to wing this. _I told myself just before an idea came to mind.

I rubbed my chin in thought. "What if I try and _will_ it to connect with the soul of the water." My eyebrow rose as I contemplated the thought. "That… That could actually work." I thought aloud in realization.

Something that I had realized as I read chapter after chapter of Bleach, was that Hollows could use their Spiritual abilities instinctively. They could perform Ceros and Balas, and open Gargantas; this was completely different from Soul Reapers who had to learn each technique through years of hard work and determination.

I also suppose that's why I always thought Hollows—mainly the Arrancar—were stronger than Soul Reapers. Hell, the only reason they lost the Winter War was because Soul Society outnumbered them and they didn't fight strategically.

That ability, for Hollows to use their powers instinctually, was passed down to Fullbringers. Fullbringers were able to use the power of Fullbring at birth or became aware of their power, as they grew older. Sadly for me, my situation was different.

My situation was the same as Ichigo's. Unlike normal Fullbringers who were able to use their gift at birth, I was given with it. Though the big question was _how_ I got them because you suddenly just don't get fictional powers.

I was sure that my new Fullbringer status had something to do with why I was here. But thinking on it caused excruciating pain beyond anything I've ever felt. It was like someone was pouring molten lava inside my skull; and I'll be frank about it, I didn't want to remember after the last two times.

Actually, no, to say that I couldn't think on it too much wasn't exactly right. I could ponder on it a little but anything beyond that sent my brain into hysterias. What made it harder was that I couldn't exactly stop thinking on it, because not trying to think about it just made me _want _to do the opposite! Le sigh… how annoying.

Ahem… let's get back to the discussion of my powers.

What I was saying before I went on that rant, I didn't instinctually know how to use my powers like other Fullbringers. I couldn't exactly flip some switch in my brain and use it; I had to mentally will it out into.

That's why I've been using this time to work on my Spiritual abilities and Slaying Moon,

Oh yeah, seeing as Ichigo's Fullbring was never given a definite name in the anime or Manga, and calling it 'My Fullbring' forever would be stupid, I decided to name it! But seeing as I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to names, and I don't know a lick of Japanese, I just decide to go with Zangetsu's English translation.

Call me lazy or unoriginal, the name fit perfectly.

Back to my idea of connecting with the soul of the water, what if I sorta' willed my spiritual to connect with the water's soul. If I tried that, than maybe it could work! Sure there was the fact that I'd be going in completely blind trying to do it, but I had too!

A Fullbringers power constitutes around manipulating matter through the souls within them. If I couldn't learn how to do the simplest of things like this, then I could kiss my chances of surviving on the ass and wave it off as it road into the sunset.

_Connect… Connect… Connect._

I repeated it over and over in my head. I tried to imagine my Spirit Energy connecting to the water's soul. But my attempt just wasn't working. My eyes were sealed shut as I waited for some kind of breakthrough and my breath was kept at a soothing pace.

_Connect to the soul… Connect to the soul… Connect to the soul of the water…_

I waited for a few minutes, trying to waiting for anything that could be deciphered as a "connection" but I got nothing. No tingling sensation, no flooding of power; I got nothing. I tried for a few more minutes, hoping for something—if not anything—to happen.

Waiting… Waiting… Nothing.

"Ok this is useless," I sighed before cancelling the flow of Spirit Energy. I scratched the back of my head while staring at the cup in concentration. "Just what the heck am I missing? I have better control of my Spiritual Energy, and I know that I have to connect to the soul of it, so what am I missing?"

_Come on Patrick you can do this, _I thought while tapping my chin,_ You're a smart guy! If you can make it all the way into the college, you can solve something like this! _Sure, I wasn't solving supernatural problems but this wasn't exactly calculus either.

_Ok then, let's go back to when I first used my Fullbring. _That's right, the day when I blocked Axe-Hand Butthead's attack and sent him through the wall of his own base._ Now, what was it that activated my powers. _Maybe I could use whatever I used that time for this moment also.

That day; oh I remember that day very well. I wasn't going to lie, when I blasted the muscled bastard Morgan through the walls of his own base was probably one of the most epic and terror-filled moments of my life.

Yep, filled to the brim with equal amounts of wonder and terror!

Wonder… and terro—OH MY GOD!

_THAT'S IT! I'M SUCH A GENIUS!_

That's it! In that moment of extreme physical and mental duress it was my survival instinct that activated my powers!

When Morgan was about to waist me, a very strong feeling of emotion inside of me told me not to die. That I had to live on and not die. When I thought on it more I realized that this was the only answer, and there was proof too. Back when I activated it on that dingy ship at night (Can't believe I forgot about that. Curse my ever-eroding memory!), or that moment when we were fighting the Buggy Pirates!

"That's it, that's what I've been missing!" I cheered in a whisper.

I looked back down at the cup with determination. I put my hand back on the glass and began to flood the water with Spiritual Energy; green light filtered over the area.

_Now focus on that emotion… Remember every moment I wanted to survive! _

There was Morgan… Fighting with Mohji… Nearly getting killed by Sham… Getting brutally beat by Jango.

I remember it; I remember that absolute terror that I felt as my heart trembled in my chest.

If I wanted to survive, if I wanted to live in this dangerous world, I have to know this technique! And I _had _to learn this now!

This was my ticket to becoming so much stronger.

I took a deep breath and used my Mental Trigger.

"Draw a circle inside your mind. As dark (**Live**) as possible, and as heavy (**Survive**) as possible," I took another breath, "Then imagine yourself (**Grow stronger**) jumping right into it." I took one last breath.

"Now… Connect with the soul of the water."

I gasped when a shiver travelled across every fiber of my being. It was refreshing and nice and gave me Goosebumps. It travelled from the tips of my fingers and spread across the rest of my body before ending.

I paused while staring down at the water contained in the glass. It gave off a translucent glow far brighter than before. I felt almost… like I was connected to it. It was by _far_ the strangest feeling in the world. Like… It was like controlling a extra arm that wasn't even attached to your body and had no sense of feeling at all.

"I think I did it," I mumbled in a mix of success and doubt. "But how do I move it." I flung my hand in the air wiggling my fingers in a good ol' Darth Vader Force Choke but nothing happened. I think after a failed Wingardium Leviosa and the classic psychic hand movements that I must've been doing something wrong.

_Ok, that's not working, _I rubbed my chin with my free hand, _Then what if I try and do it like when I control my Spirit Energy? _So with that in mind, I willed it to move "up".

-SPLASH-

There was no time for me to react when the water lashed out from the cup like a cobra taking its pray. The lukewarm water splashed my face and I involuntarily flinched backwards and shut my eyes tight when it got to close to my eyes. It dripped down my neck and drenched my shirt; water droplets went from dripped my elbows in rivulets making my pants damp.

I sat there frowning for a minute, frozen at the mishap that left me soaked. I slowly opened my eyes before blowing on some water droplets that had accumulated on my lip. I looked down at myself before looking up into the night sky and let out a breath.

I had both succeeded… yet I failed at the same time.

* * *

All of us were lounging in the kitchen. To my left sat Usopp who was conversing with Luffy. Nami seemed to be drawing a highly detailed map of some islands. Judging by the name "Gecko Islands" written in curvy letters, it was the archipelago we had last visited. Zoro was sitting with his back against the refrigerator… Ok then.

As for me, I was just staring. The walls, Nami's map, the light bulbs.

Oh yeah, the Going Merry had electricity, so go figure! I suppose that explained how the refrigerator worked; I first thought it was an icebox when it was still an anime, but no. And both the water pumps located beneath the stairs on the top deck powered it all.

God damn Merry, way to pimp out the ship!

Luffy and Usopp were talking about how good Usopp was with the cannon earlier. He had shot a far off rock sticking out of the ground with the cannon. This was both good and bad. I now knew that today signified the start of the next arc. But I had _literally_ learned to properly control my powers like six hours ago.

_Just when I thought things were going good, God starts throwing curveballs._

"Aren't I great with a cannon? I shot the rock like it was nothing!" Oh wait, Usopp was talking to me.

I turned to Usopp. "Yep, that was the best shot I've ever seen." That was actually the first time I've ever seen, but I'd admit it was impressive.

"Yeah, you were so cool out their Usopp," Luffy added in, "It's official, you're definitely our sniper!"

Usopp looked him unhappy. "What, why can't I be the captain?" He complained.

"Because Luffy is the captain," I cut with a deadpan voice.

"Yeah, what Patrick said," he put a thumb to his chest, "I'm the captain!"

Usopp laughed heartily. "Fine, I'll humor you for now. But the moment you do something cowardly, I'm taking command!" I snorted. Good luck with that Usopp. Cats and dogs would sooner fall from the sky.

Luffy completely agreed to that, before he changed the conversation. He said how we still needed another position filled before we could head out for the Grand Line. We—who are people of common sense might I add—thought he meant for someone to take the role of "Chef". I had become the impromptu chef these past days. It wasn't from the bottom of my heart, I just didn't trust Luffy with food and I didn't want to pay Nami. As for Usopp and Zoro, who knows.

"No pirates should be without one of these; it's a musician!"

"Your stupidity is inspiring Captain."

"Are you an idiot?"

"What the heck do you think we're doing out here?!"

"And just when I thought you were about to say something smart."

"Ah come on! A pirate is nothing without his musician!" Luffy said, trying to show reason in his logic.

Nami set down her pen before closing the book she drew the map in. "He's also nothing if he's starving to death," she countered with an annoyed look.

"She's got a good point," Zoro agreed.

"Ah come on," Luffy began to pout, "Crewmate should agree with their captain!" He sunk his head down before folding his arms like some petulant child having a tantrum.

"I'm all for following your orders Luffy, but I like being healthy and alive too." I said before resting my head in my in my palm. If my calculations were correct, then Johnny should be here right about—

-CRASH- -SMASH-

"GET OUT HERE YOU SHITTY PIRATES!"

"I so called that," I mumbled while getting up to look through the kitchen's small window. What I saw was a little different.

"What the heck was that?" Questioned Nami and I heard everyone getting up from his or her spots.

"There's some guy with a cleaver is on our boat," I said with actual surprise. On board our ship wasn't Johnny, but his buddy Yosaku; well whatever. Luffy barged right passed me and through the door. I decided to follow after him with my Combat-Pass out.

"Hey who the hell are you?!" Luffy yelled, irritated.

"SHUT UP YOU STINKIN PIRATE! WHO I AM DOESN'T MATTER!" Yosaku pointed at us with his large cleaver. "WHAT YOU SHOULD BE THINKING ABOUT IS WHAT I'M ABOUT TO DO TO YOU!"

"Yell at us?" I commented with a smirk.

"YOU SHUT UP TOO!" He yelled at me with a glare. I probably would have been scared of this the moment I came here, but after the shit I've been put through this past half-month, this was nothing. Hell, I was sure that I could take him on and come out on top.

"I've lost count of all the pirate heads we've be taken over the years. And you think I'll just let you kill my partner!" Yosaku jumped at us swinging his cleaver with a roar.

I think I reacted more out of instinct than planning. I leaped over the railing and activated Slaying Moon. I met him his attack before I launched a three-pronged propeller that send him flying into the Merry's mast. I landed on bent legs with shock.

_Wow… I just did that! _I looked down at my legs. My ankles weren't sprained and they didn't even hurt. _That was awesome!_ I knew that I had strength and endurance buffs, but seeing it in action was better than knowing it!

Luffy hopped down from the upper deck. "Who the heck is this guy?" He asked while scratching his head.

I turned and looked at Yosaku who was groaning. "Dunno," I answered. I'd play along with being ignorant until I thought saying something would be important. "Do you think he's a pirate or something?"

"Yosaka, is that you?" We turned around to look at Zoro, who was leaning on the railing. He was looking at Yosaku's prone form against the mast. "What the heck are you doing here?"

"Huh? Who the heck is saying my name?" Yosaku said with false bravado. He got back to his feet, adjusting his red headgear. He then looked up at Zoro where his eyes widened with shock. "Huh? Big Bro? Is that you? What the heck is going on?"

"Yosaku calm down; where the heck is Johnny?"

Yosaku's eyes widen and he looked panicked. "Oh no, Johnny!" He looked back up at Zoro before yelling, tears dripping from his face "Big Bro you gotta' help us! Johnny isn't doin' so hot!" He then ran over to the Merry's side.

We all followed him and we found that his smaller ship hooked onto the Merry. Laying on board was sickly man with tan skin that was now pale with a tattoo of some kanji on his left cheek. So they changed places huh…

"He-He's been sick," Yosaku mumbled weekly.

"Let's get him onboard," I told them. Zoro and Yosaku agreed. So after a grueling few minutes of passing Johnny's sickly form over, we had placed him onboard our ship, and laid him down upon a blanket from storage.

Yosaku explained how Johnny was right as rain uptil a few days ago. But he started getting sick. He kept fainting and getting pail and sweaty. His teeth would fall out and his wound opened up. He then explained how he decided to rest on an island in hopes of it going away.

"But… then… gih!" Tears and snot flowed from his face and I honestly felt for the guy. His friend was sick and all he tried to do was help. But then the Idiot Duo came along. I turned to look at Luffy and Usopp.

To say they looked mortified at there actions would be an underestimate.

"WE-WE'RE VERY SORRY!"

"SORRY ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH!"

"Ok, let's calm down here," I said to break up the situation. I kneeled down in front of Johnny and looked at his pale body. "Let me take a look at him," I spoke.

"Wait, are you a doctor?" Yosaku questioned. Luffy was cheering about how he now had a doctor.

"No, this is literal common sense for ocean travel," I told him.

I knew that he had scurvy, but I decided to give him a quick physical, to make it look official. I checked his pulse, then put my hand over his heart and both were beating fast. I then opened his jaw to look inside and his gums were inflamed and some teeth were missing. After wiping my hands on the blanket Johnny was on I got up and turned to the crew.

I asked Luffy and Usopp to go down to storage to bring me some lemons; I explained that it would help fix him so that sure got their butts moving. Soon the two were back with all the needed essentials.

"Here take this," I handed Luffy and Usopp both a lemon that I had crudely ripped in half (What this wasn't Fruit Ninja!). "Now squeeze these in his mouth."

"Huh, what's a lemon going to do?" Asked Luffy.

"It's going to help this guy get on his feet. Now start squeezing!" I commanded. They followed the orders, and began to squeeze the lemon's juices into Johnny's mouth. "Once you're finished with that one, get another and do the same."

"What do lemons have to do with helping Johnny?" Asked Yosaku.

"He has scurvy," Nami said coming down from the upper deck. She probably figured out that they weren't a threat and that she was safe. She looked at Johnny's prone form with a degree of discomfort. "That's one nasty case of it."

Yosaku still looked confused about it so I began to explain it further, telling him how it was a nasty sickness that pirates because they didn't eat enough foods with vitamin C, like vegetable and fruits.

"Ok now… Let's shove 'em in his mouth… Get them all in there."

"Now he'll be even more fine."

Also… Luffy and Usopp were shoving the entire lemons into Johnny's mouth. Whatever, he'd be find.

"Your amazing Patrick! You're like some kind of doctor!" Luffy—what the hell—what did you do to Johnny?

"I always thought you were an amazing guy, I guess I was right!" Guys... I think you morons killed our patient. I don't think he's breathing.

"Yeah, I'm glad I made him my First-Mate!" Um… I think I should say something.

"You guys are idiots! You do realize that this is common knowledge when sailing!" Ok I'm going to say something!

I didn't have to say anything. Johnny began to wiggle around like a worm under the sun. The lemons muffling his panicked cries while he clawed at his face for breath. Then with a sudden motion he—

"BLAARRGH!"

—Spat out the lemon pieces, throwing them everywhere. Johnny propped himself up using his arms. His glasses had fallen low on his face, allowing me to see his eyes look around in a daze. Well I guess he was ok then. I su—

"HORRAY HORRAY! HORRAY HORRAY!"

And now they had there arms looped and were spinning in a circle while cheering loudly in an annoying fashion.

"HORRAY HORRAY! HORRAY HORRAY!"

"THE LEMONS CURED ME!"

"HORRAY HORRAY! HORRAY HORRAY!"

"NOW YOU'RE ALL BETTER!"

"HORRAY HORRAY! HORRAY HORRAY!"

"IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO WORK LIKE THAT YOU DUMBASSES," Nami roared at them in anger, "SO STOP JUMPING AROUND LIKE A BUNCH OF IDIOTS AND SIT DOWN!" They did listen to her and continued cheering in their happiness.

After a little bit longer, they finally stopped and introduced themselves. But of course they had to do it that corny way where they took a pose and stuff. But this wasn't JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, so it was pretty stupid.

"Together, we are the baddest bounty hunting duo in the world," They had said.

"Big Brother Zoro used to be apart of our group. It's good to make your acquaintance," Johnny said with a smile.

"But I gotta say," Yosaku cut in, "It's quite the surprise to see Big Bro Zoro becoming the stuff he used to hunt," Yosaku laughed a little, "It's sorta ironic in a way!"

"You can say that again," Zoro said with an amused grin.

Zoro walked up to Johnny and they both held out their hands in an attempt at a firm handshake of companionship or something but Johnny wasn't exactly in perfect condition.

-THUMP-

Johnny fell face first on the deck, just as pale as before. Blood was now leaking from his nose and mouth. It took for Yosuka to realize that his partner was on the ground again but when he did he freaked.

"OH MY GOD! JOHNNY DIED!"

_Oh my fucking god, _I thought while palming my face. Luffy and Usopp were running around in flipping their shit while Yosuka was crying into his sick friends shoulder.

_Guess we better fix him… again._

* * *

We checked Johnny over and put his ass into the men's room. Hopefully the dumbass would be smart enough to lay down this time.

"Let this be a lesson for you Luffy," I told him, "When you're out at see, having the right nutrition is just as important as your ship." He didn't pay attention I think.

"Well that's one of the dangers when you choose the life at the see," Usopp said with a confident smile. He stood up and put a fist to his chest. "But I won't let that stop me! I swore that I would become a great warrior of the see, and that's what I'd do!"

It was awkwardly silent for as we looked at Usopp. A small bead of sweat slid down his forehead as he kept completely frozen.

"Ok Usopp, we understand," I told him while patting his back in pity. He must've expected something or us to cheer him on for following his dream.

"R-Right." My long-nosed comrade sat himself back down but the awkward silence continued.

"But Usopp is right about one thing," Nami spoke up, "We have to think of a way for us to get the right amount of nutrients with the right amount of food. So it's absolutely necessary someone knows how to do that if we're going to go into the Grandline."

"I vote we get a chef," I said. "I'm ok with cooking food, but I'm not a cook. So I think we should recruit someone who can do a better job than I can."

"Right, let's go get a chef!" Luffy said after finishing off a role. "We can have all the delicious food we want whenever we want!"

"I'm in," said Zoro.

"Me too," Nami agreed.

"That's a great plan!" Usopp agreed.

"You already know my vote," I told him with a grin.

"If your looking for a cook, I think I know a place!" We turned to Yosaku. "Me and Johnny were planning on eating there once we had enough money; I heard the food's to die for!"

"Alright! What's it called?!" Luffy said with excitement. Was it about the food or getting the chef that made the glutton happy?

"And don't think this is your run-of-the-mill restaurant," Yosaku warned, "This place is close to the Grandline, and I heard there was a certain "Hawk-Eyed Man" there too." Zoro looked both excited yet nervous at the same time when he said that. His hand drifted to his white katana, the on he got from Kuina.

"Set a course towards north, northeast!" Yosaku said while pointing forward in some random direction. But everyone was smiling in excitement, so I did too.

"Our destination is the famous "Sea Restaurant" of the East Blue! The Baratie!"

"Alright guys! Let's get a move on and get ourselves a chef!" Commanded Luffy while readjusting his hat!

"YES CAPTAIN!"

_Let's go get our pervy chef..._

* * *

**In my opinion, this was a nice chapter. It wasn't too long or too short, so that's good. I had first thought about making this longer and just include them going to the ship, but I think I'll just continue it in the next chapter.**

**Also, did you guise know that the Going Merry had electricity? I didn't! I guess that explained the fridge thing and the fan in Nami's room; I sometimes forget that the One Piece world is sorta' more technological than I thought.**

**Also, I'd like to thank you guys for the favorites and the reviews, I'm really thankful for them. And I'm literally 3 reviews away from 100, so I'm excited! So please review and favorite more!**

**Anyways, review, favorite, and PM if you have any questions.**

**Ok, By!**


	19. Chapter 19

**THIS IS A NOTICE BITCH! SO READ IT LIKE YOU READ A BIBLE!**

**I am back my loyal subjects! You should all know that I've finally finished refurbishing Chapter 1 and will continue on with Chapter 2 and other chapters soon. I've got my hands on a computer that works besides the one I'm on, so that's good.**

**I'm also going to try and limit my chapter to around 8,000 words so I can get chapters out faster and more efficiently. I need a beta too, so if anyone wants to fill that role, than tell me.**

**SERIOUSLY TELL ME! I NEEEEEDS IT!**

**Ok, let's start.**

* * *

**REVISION DATE: [1/15/16]**

* * *

**Chapter 19: The Delicacy Of The Sea**

* * *

-BOOM-

"HAH!" My head was jerked from the pillow as a loud, echoing explosion rang in my ears. In my dazed state I looked around the dark room. Light filtered in through the door's single window, scattering and distorting shadows across everything inside. I shifted beneath the cocoon of a blanket; the hammock subtly rocked in motion with the Going Merry's. I was in that position for a moment before I rubbed the crust from my blurry eyeballs and cracked my neck.

"What the heck is happening out there," I whispered with a groan of irritability. I looked around once more, and my eyes caught the sight of a coffee table with a cup atop of it. It was like a trigger and I instantly remembered last night's training.

Last night was tiring both mentally and _spiritually_. It wasn't because we had to shift directions of the ship, which I found to be a chore in itself, but because we were heading to the Baratie now. From what information I gathered from Yosaku yesterday it would take a day to reach floating restaurant. The Baratie had set areas in which it anchored, and they changed their spots weakly. Coordinates to their locations were sent out to nearby islands and ports which made it far easier to find.

That scrap of information aside, it was like Satan just smacked my ass and told me to bend over. I would be fighting Don Krieg and his crew the next _day_… Or possibly maybe in the next few days. My brain was particularly foggy on the intricate details of this arc, and I doubted it was my memory problems this time. In my opinion, this arc was just boring and was completely outclassed by the awesomeness that was the Arlong Park Arc. But the fact was I was in deep doo doo. So I decided to stay up late and practice Fullbring on the water a few more times.

Good news though: I did get a better handle on connecting my spiritual energy to the souls of matter. The reason to my success is because I abandoned my idea of Fullbring being like a third arm. Instead of thinking of Fullbring like a new appendage, I decided to think of it more like using a remote control of sorts. That seemed to make it _so_ much easier.

After a few hours of work I could do simple things with it. I could command the water to float and make it move around me, though I wasn't skilled enough to give it shape. But this was just the beginning. Soon I'd start on something less malleable and more solid. That'll surely pave my way into learning Bringer Light!

Of course staying up so late working on my powers was exhausting, so I slept at soon as I finished.

I stared at the wooden planks of the ceiling for a bit, my eyes making out every intricate detail carved into their surfaces. My ears heard a commotion outside; there was shouting and cursing; what were they doing.

"Fullbody, something of the Marines," I mumbled. An image of a man with lavender hair and bolts on his hand that could be attached, or stupid knuckle-dusters. He was of some rank I couldn't care less about, and had his butt handed to him by Sanji. "That means we're at the Baratie... If that explosion is anything to go on, then Luffy just launched a cannon into the ship and earned himself a years worth of labor." I let out a tired yawn before I unwrapped myself from my blanket. It was best to see just what was happening.

I maneuvered my body from the hammock and the moment my bare feet hit the wooden floor I felt shiver go up my spine at how cold it was. After putting on my shoes and grabbing a clean shirt, I shoved Slaying Moon into my pocket and walked out the door.

I quickly realized there was another ship parked next to ours… well two ships actually. Big, blue, and had the word 'MARINE' in capitol letters imprinted in several places. Yep, that was a Marine ship sitting right next us. I stared at it before looking at everyone else. My eyes then went to the weirdly colored… oval-shaped ship with a… fish head at the front?

Wait… wait… Ok that was the Baratie.

"Alright," I began with an irritated tone, "What's with the yelling and the explosions; why is there a Marine ship? Where's Luffy?" I just realized that our captain was missing.

"Big Bro Patrick," I was suddenly pulled into a tight hug as Johnny ran up to me, "Luffy was captured by cooks!" I felt something wet roll down my shoulders and from the sniffling I realized he was crying.

"Ok, personal space!" I quickly shoved Johnny away in an act of revulsion and vigorously wiped away the waterworks with my shirt. Yuck. "Ok, someone tell me what happened, without the tears and crying," I asked again while sending a small glare Johnny's way.

"Let me explain," Nami said so I turned my attention to her. "The Marines fired a cannon on us and Luffy bounced it back. But he screwed it up and it went into the Baratie." Ok, well that still fits the plot. "He stretched himself onto the ship, and the next thing we know, he's being dragged away by some guys that looked like chefs." So _that's_ how they found him in the anime!

"Ok, well, that sounds lovely," I said sarcastically. My head turned to look at the Baratie before I looked at the offending ship and the Marines that were onboard. I clapped both hands together and let out a breath. "Let's get on that restaurant ship and see just what's going on."

"B-But, what if we get caught too?" Usopp said unsurely.

"I really doubt that they'll do that," Zoro told Usopp. "Even if they did try, it's not like we did anything; it was our idiotic Captain's fault." Zoro thought he was right and I did too. "Besides, we came here to get ourselves a chef, not hightail it and run." He did not sound too happy about the idea of retreating… Did we even say we were retreating? I guess it could've been implied in that way…

"I agree with Zoro, let's get the ship docked and finally get some grub," I told everyone.

"Don't be an idiot!" Nami! I assure I am no idiot of any kind! "With the Marines right there we can't just leave our ship right next to them! Who knows what they'll do!" We turned our attention to the enemy ship and to our surprise they weren't doing anything.

"They don't look like they're doing anything," Usopp said in surprise at the unexpected situation. "Why aren't they attacking us? We're pirates."

"Maybe they don't think we're threats?" Zoro commented with a frown.

"Or maybe they're just stupid and shitty at their job. Who cares," I said with a dismissing wave of my hand. "Let's just go."

"But what about the—"

"Johnny, I don't give, a _fuck_."

* * *

So we tried to dock the ship to the Baratie. But it was a fucking chore and it ticked me off that everyone else could do it better than I could! Usopp could do it; even Yosaku and Johnny were fine. But I completely fucked it up! Mainly because furling up the sails was hard and then there was the pole thing in the kitchen that you steered the ship with—god it was _such_ _a_ _fucking_ mess—goddamn it Merry why did you do this—it just fucks our shit up!

As you can tell, this made me a little bit _ABSOLUTELY LIVID!_

Then Johnny and Yosaku suggested that we use their smaller, more maneuverable ship. They told us how they'd be staying on the Going Merry, just incase a Marine saw them. They were a bunch of big babies.

So we agreed and soon we were rowing two large paddles to the Baratie, where we tied it up to the Baratie.

"I wonder what kind of food they serve?" Nami mused.

"Well Johnny said that it's well-known so it should be good," Usopp interjected as he finished tying the rope.

"I bet it has some good beer," Zoro said with a lopsided grin as he looked over the Baratie's strange outside. But it lowered into a smile. "But it looks a bit too high-class for my tastes though."

"Well that's to be expected," Nami told him with her eyes planted on the flamboyant ship. "I've actually heard about the Baratie before. It was a few weeks back. I was at a bar when I heard some drunks talking about 'the best damned restaurant in the whole East Blue!'" Nami said with a fake excited voice.

"Let's just hope that there's someone desperate or stupid enough to join our crew," I commented with a sardonic attitude.

"Come on Patrick you make it sound so bad," Usopp commented on my right. All I did was give him a look that said 'really?' before he looked the other way. "A-Alright so it's pretty bad. But you should look on the brighter side of things!" He told me with an encouraging smile on his big lips. "Just feel a little lucky!"

"Ever since I joined this crew the word 'lucky' has forever been burned from my personal vocabulary of words," I told him. That sure wiped away his smirk.

"He's got a point. You have to some kind of moron to join our crew," Zoro said with sigh.

"I guess that makes us those 'morons'." Nami looked dejected, and I imagined that those blue wavy lines would appear on her head to show she's depressed, like they usually appear in anime.

I'd probably have them too, but I just couldn't find a fuck in my "Bucket-O-Fucks" to pass around.

"Just what kind of mess did I get into?" She questioned.

"The kind of mess where we follow an idiot around on a _magical adventure_ where we try not to get ourselves killed." Nami didn't answer me, but I was sure that was because the question was rhetorical.

Zoro entered through the Baratie's doors and we followed in after him. But we stopped at the open doors. The jovial atmosphere that should have been here ended, and was replaced with one filled with animosity and tension.

"What the heck's going on?" Questioned Nami.

"It's a fight," Zoro answered.

That was right, it was a fight. The entire restaurant was silent, and with all the fancily clad customers it made me think just how they got here when there were no other ships outside in the first place. They had come to eat their delicious food but were deadly silent now, staring in a mix of shock and fear at the seen that had finished playing out in front of them.

The first one was definitely Sanji, going by his blond hair and his freakish eyebrow that curled upward into a spiral. He wore his black suit and had a cigarette stuck between his teeth.

That must mean the lavender haired guy was Fullbody. He was on his knees in front of Sanji, head bowed and covered in bruises.

Well that's what he get for being a big ol' douche nozzle.

Though if my memories are correct, wasn't Sanji a big douche too? That womanizer of a man was hitting on Fullbody's date, like he does to every woman in his vicinity. So in the end it was a battle between douches, and it seems Sanji's douchiness was _so_ much stronger.

Fantastic, just knowing that I would have to be dealing with this for the rest of my life just made me feel all _fuzzy_ on the inside.

And that "fuzzy feeling" was anger slowly bubbling into my chest.

"That guy has weird eyebrows," I mumbled under my breath to make fun of him.

"Yeah, who has swirls for eyebrows?" Well then, I didn't expect to be spoken back to. I was just trying to alleviate the anger inside of me. And shut it Usopp; I could hang my car keys on your nose. If I actually had my car keys… Or my car… I miss my car.

A quick chuckle escaped Zoro's mouth. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever scene," Zoro said. Great! Hey Nami do you want to get in on this action too?

"Besides your green hair," I joked snarkily.

"Yeah... Hey what's that supposed to mean!" Zoro looked angry but all I did was smile back.

"OH NO! OUR CUSTOMER!" A loud voice roared.

Someone was stomping his way from the kitchen's doors and towards Sanji. He was that guy that everyone said looked like Popeye! Oh boy, he should see a doctor about those arms… Forgot his name too.

"Dammit Sanji! What the hell do you think you're doing," he yelled angrily, "You always have to pull this kind of shit! Can't you see that he's a Marine Lieutenant?!" Sanji turned his head to look at… Richard. I'll just call him Richard.

"What makes you think you can talk to me like that you shitty cook?" Sanji said.

Richard looked none too happy with that. "Look here you moron, our customers are our life! Without paying customers a restaurant can't exist! If you keep beating the crap out of customers 'cuz you don't like them, then you'll drive them all away!" He said vehemently while jabbing a big finger in his chest.

Sanji swatted said sausage finger away and glared. "He disrespected the food; he disrespected me; he disrespected each an every chef here!" He said in anger why gesturing to the beaten Lieutenant. "And frankly, I'm ten seconds away from kicking his ass into the ocean," he said while giving a light kick to Fullbody's shoulder that sent him on his ass.

I small part of me wanted to yell out "FINISH HIM," in the Mortal Kombat announcer voice, but I really didn't want to be the center of attention in front of all these people.

"You'll pay for this," I heard Fullbody growled out while glaring up at them. "You will regret this day for the rest of your life!" Oh boy he looked mad—h-he looked pretty pissed. "I will shut this shithole down! You'll be penniless for the rest of your pathetic lives!" His eyes had nothing but contempt why glaring at Sanji. "YOU'RE ALL FINISHED!"

"Then I suppose I'll just kill you off right now," Sanji said with a sneer. "It won't be a problem to hide your body either, the ocean is a pretty big place."

Fullbody didn't like the sound of that though and his back stiffened before he began to inch himself away. Just as Sanji stormed towards him with the intent of inflicting pain, several chefs came and began to restrain him.

"Oh boy things are getting hectic," Nami spoke.

"Yep." Zoro spoke in a blithe manner. "And here I thought that I would just be eating here. I didn't thinking I'd be enjoying a fight also!"

"That swirlybrow guy looks mad, I wonder if he's actually gonna do it?" Usopp questioned.

"Probably not," I answered for him. "That guy—as much as a piece of shit as he is—is still a Marine Lieutenant." I turned to look at him. "If he did kill him, that would put him, and this entire restaurant at risk of being on the end of the Marine's rifle barrel."

True. As incompetent as they were in the East Blue, I knew what kind of monstrous, unusually tall, and weirdly proportioned men existed inside the Marine's ranks.

Which brought me to another thought. Why wasn't Kizaru the Fleet Admiral? Kizaru literally had all control over _light _and could become _light_. While I doubted he could move at the speed of light, he was by far the fastest person in this entire universe. He possessed great physical strength too. Kizaru could hold down Whitebeard's bisento with just one foot, and fight Rayleigh and Whitebeard equally despite their Haki abilities.

So the only conclusion I cold come up with was (And I hate for these words to pass my lips), he was pulling a Shikamaru and was just extremely lazy. God I hate Naruto… I also hate the anime—_BUT_, the point was the only reason Kizaru wasn't Fleet Admiral was because he was completely lazy!

… Naruto sucked, and I was glad it was over.

"Man look at 'im go," I breathed out my words. Even with the several chefs restraining Sanji he was still inching forward to try and stick a fist in Fullbody's face. Foot—I meant foot, because he usually uses his legs when fighting. It was some weird taekwondo stuff. It was called taekwondo right? I mean, I _am_ getting all my fighting information from Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple (A splendid fighting anime with just enough boobage), so I could possibly be wrong.

-BAM-

"HYAAAAAH!"

I watched as a chef unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Sanji's kick go flying. The poor soul landed on a table which broke under his weight. He quickly curled into a ball and began to cry in pain. Poor man... Poor innocent table...

_I'll have to watch out for that, _I thought with an unpleasant grimace. _As much as I disliked Sanji, I really don't want to be on the receiving end of his foot._ I did not feel like testing my bodies new physical powers anytime soon against him. So until I could dodge bullets and catch a swinging sword with my bare hands, no picking fights with people who can break my spine... with their hands.

My eyes went back to Sanji who was now being held in a chokehold by Richard.

Oh, and then Luffy dropped in.

-CRASH- -THUMP-

No. He _literally _dropped in.

He came crashing through the ceiling with some old, chef-looking guy with a peg leg and a ridiculously tall chef hat. Going by the epic moustache hanging beneath his nose it was Zeff, one of the few epic old dudes in One Piece.

Seriously, Zeff was one of my favorite old guys in anime. To me he was next to Master Roshi and Hayato Furinji. It was mostly the beard, but hey, it was a pretty epic beard.

"L-Luffy? Why'd just come crashing through the ceiling?" Usopp questioned with a stupefied look.

"That's just Luffy, making an entrance in his usual Luffy way," I commented.

Zoro sighed. "I'd expect nothing less from my idiot captain."

"Man that scared me for a second," Luffy mumbled while fixing the position of his hat. But it was nearly thrown off again as Zeff punched him in the face.

"GOD DAMMIT! LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO MY CEILING YOU SHITTY BRAT!" Zeff roared while looking at the offending problem. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT YOU LITTLE SHIT!" He yelled at Luffy.

"ME?! IT'S YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT YOU OLD COOT!"

"BOSS!" Richard called out, "CAN YOU PLEASE GET OVER HERE AND STOP SANJI?! HE'S GONE CRAZY AGAIN!" Richard's words were labored as he did his best to hold Sanji.

"SHUT IT PATTY! I'M COMMIN'!" Wait his name was Patty? God, I wasn't close at all. Now that I think about, he doesn't really look like a Richard at all. But he doesn't look like Patty either, more like a Po—

"DAMMIT SANJI," Zeff snapped angrily, "I CAN'T LEAVE YOU FOR _FIVE_ SECONDS WITHOUT YOU SCREWING SOMETHING UP!" He walked towards Sanji with a dangerous look in his eyes.

Sanji better run. It's common knowledge that just about every old guy in just about every manga were hardcore mofos of destruction and pain.

"Shut it old fart. Why don't you put your other foot in the grave already." Oh Sanji, if there wasn't the slightest chance of me getting chlamydia I would hug you out of pity.

"OH? SO THAT'S HOW IT'S GOING TO BE! You think you can do this to my ship and get away with it scot-free? Well guess what! You're getting a slap on the wrist! YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Zeff's peg leg rose from the ground and met Sanji's cheek. Fullbooty looked rather pleased with what happened, but Zeff's killer eyes landed on him after.

"You too! Get the fuck out of my restaurant! If you come back I'll feed you too the fish!"

-BAM-

His wooden leg shot out like a bullet before it met with the bottom of Fullbitch's chin. With the strength behind it, along with the direction it was coming from, it sent Fullbooty flying into the ceiling before he bounced off and hit the ground face first.

"_Ooooh_," I let out with a wince. That _had_ to have hurt.

That was the moment when a Marine lackey came running through the doors with some blood dripping from his forehead.

"LIEUTENANT! LIEUTENANT FULLBODY! WE'VE GOT TROUBLE!" He looked really shaken up and panicked.

"What?" Fullbody questioned while getting up from the ground, his hand coming up to his bleeding nose to hold it. "What's going on!"

"WE WE'RE—! AND THEN HE—! SO THEN I—!"

"CALM DOWN AND TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED!"

"Well! It was Krieg's henchman! We were trying to interrogate him on Krieg's current location, but he attacked us! He killed seven of our men before he up and vanished!"

"WHAT, THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! WHEN WE FOUD HIM HE WAS HALF DEAD! WHERE THE HELL DID HE GET THAT KIND OF STRENGTH?!

This news did not sit well with anyone. It brought nothing but worry and fear amongst the other patrons. They mumbled and whispered amongst themselves in fear, like high school students passing along a juicy rumor in the school halls. They talked about how Don Krieg was the strongest pirate in the East Blue Some looked ready to bail and were going for the door while others were frozen in fear.

"Oh boy, things aren't looking to good," I mumbled to myself. I just hoped they didn't try and do anything like panic and try to run for the door like a bunch of stampeding bulls.

"I-I'm sorry sir but we—"

-BANG-

"ARRGH!"

There was a gunshot, and that was it. The customers ran screaming in the opposite direction of the Marine that was now falling forward with a bullet imbedded in his back. Even I had to look away with my squirming stomach.

Death. That was still something that niggled at my stomach. Everyone else seemed ok with it. I knew that Zoro was a bounty hunter, so he had to have killed some guys before and Luffy pretty much scratched his ass at the word. Nami seemed pretty mellow about it and hell, even Usopp looked like he was holding up better than I did, unless he was just faking it. But me? No.

Death and killing was still a new concept to me. I was someone who less than three weeks ago, was just some ordinary guy try to get around in life. To do that with my own two hands and end someone's life… Ugh, it just sent chills down my spine and upset my stomach.

All those fucking Gary-Stu self-inserts made it look so fucking easy. They go around fighting and _killing_ bad guys! they just go and _kill_ the guy and _end _their lives, saying it was for their friends or some shit! Bullshit—that was nothing but bullshit! They don't take into consideration that the fact they were _KILLING _someone—they were ending someone's life! I might not know first-hand about taking someone life—I wasn't a soldier—but I knew it wasn't that easy!

Call me a pussy if you want I don't care! Killing someone, to me, was fucking scary! Hell, even hurting animals sat wrong with me because really, do you think you could kill a puppy? Do you?!

I brought my attention to the man standing in the doorway, not to the corpse bleeding out on the ground. Gin walked in. The tan, older man ambled in, armed with a pistol. He went over to a table and sat at one of the tables with his feet resting up on it.

After a little while Gin spoke. "I don't care what it is, just bring me some food." He looked up at some chefs and spoke some more. "You're chefs right? Do your damn job and serve me, your customer."

Patty walked over, hands attached to his unnaturally large forearms clasped together. He gave a clearly fake, but large smile.

"Why hello there, you damn crook!" Patty's words earned a gasps from the patrons.

"I won't say it again. Bring me something to eat and make it quick."

Patty gave a fake laugh. "Of course, of course! But may I ask, good sir, just how do you plan on paying for this meal?"

Gin leveled his pistol at Patty's forehead. "Sorry, but I can only pay in lead."

"So you don't have any money huh?"

-BAM- -CRASH-

Patty punched Gin right on his head, bringing him to the ground at smashing the table chair he sat on. I probably would have felt a little bad for him, seeing as he did save Sanji in the anime and was a actually a pretty nice guy, and the only reason that he had to be a douche was because Krieg was a bigger douche. But I just saw him kill an innocent man right in front of me! Sure he was a Marine, and my last encounter with them wasn't exactly swell, but I didn't want him to die!

_How am I not flipping my shit and fainting,_ I thought while stealing a glance at the corpse. _It's been a little over two weeks of being in this world, and things like dead bodies don't even bother me that much at all. _Maybe I was finally cracking; maybe I was already cracked. _God this is driving me insane. _I thought over the cheering of the crowd.

Eighteen days. Jesus that was almost a month. I've been away from my world—away from the sanity that was the norm—for such a long time, damn. I could only hope that there was that cliché time difference thing happening or I was going to be in deep shit when I get home. If I get home…

Gin must've said something from his crumbled state, but I couldn't here him over the cheering of the crowd. But Patty yelled something back and then began to kick the shit out of him. I moaned and rubbed my face before I began to walk away.

_I gotta' get away from this for a moment._

"Patrick? Where are you going?" I turned to look back at Zoro who asked.

I looked at him for a moment, looked back at the fight, before Looking back at Zoro and sighed.

"I… really gotta pee."

* * *

In my opinion, 'I really gotta pee' wasn't the best thing I could've said, but I just really wanted to leave.

I _really_ needed to take a pee too. Daily dosages of batshit crazy really filled my bladder.

But back to the point... All thoughts at that moment were on getting the heck out of there before things became too inwardly depressing. The bathroom was thankfully empty of anyone and it helped muffle the vigorously loud cries of the crowd. It gave me a small amount of time to get some piece of mind from the craziness around me, to get my thoughts together.

So that's how I found myself staying in the bathroom for the past fifteen minutes, pacing around and washing my hands, repeatedly.

_Geeze, I really needed this, _I thought while drying my hands with some paper towels. _Things were getting a bit hectic out and I need a break._ I tossed them in the trash before looking back in the mirror. My green eyes met my reflection and I watched as my mouth went into a frown that looked a little too grumpy for my emotions right now. I breathed out sight before cracking my neck.

If my memory was correct (And let's hoped to god it was) Luffy, Sanji, and Gin were probably having a conversation right now outside. Luffy was also being the idiot that he was, and refusing Sanji's refusal to join our crew. It was inevitable though, Sanji would join our crew one way or another because Luffy was too stubborn to except the word 'no.'

"I'd best make the best of this and get some grub." Food sounded good to both me and my stomach. I hadn't been in a real restaurant in so long that it almost seemed like a far-off memory! I couldn't wait to eat this joint's grub! "Just because I'm here doesn't mean I have to pay attention every single detail, especially when there isn't anything dangerous."

I'd let Luffy have his fun with Sanji; my presence wasn't needed.

"For now let's go get some grub!"

The bathroom door shut behind me as I walked out and I soon found myself back in the main room. Things had calmed down and everyone had returned to their tables to continue their fine dining. But it was still quite the buzz; I heard many people talking about Patty beating up the 'unruly pirate' as I navigated between tables.

It wasn't hard to find everyone. I just had to spot Zoro's vibrant hair color and it was easy from there. I found them seated at a table, with _many_ different platters with _many _different _delicious _looking dishes.

"Where've you been?" Nami asked while stabbing a piece of fish.

All I said was, "Bathroom." I took the seat across from her. My eyes scanned over the food and its odor wafted into my noes… OH COME TO DADDY!

"So what took you so long?" Usopp said while munching down on flatbread.

"Nothing. just really had to go," I answered ambiguously. I took a shrimp from a platter, dipped it in some sauce, and ate it. "When ya' got to go, you got. To. Go." I now see with my own taste buds why the Baratie is so highly recommended.

_God, Yosaku and Johnny sure are missing out right now. _To bad they were a bunch of pussies and decided to stay on the ship. _Oh well, not my problem! It's there loss!_

"Did you eat some bad food last night or so—"

"As fun as it is to here about what you do in the bathroom, I'd like to eat my food in peace and not about Patrick's bowel movements," Nami said while giving us a displeased glare. I didn't exactly feel like challenging Nami today so I let it go.

"Nami's right," Zoro interjected before setting down a sixth empty cup of what I could guess, used to hold some sort of alcohol. "From what I heard around Luffy is stuck as this place's chore boy. For a full year."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Usopp said in an inquisitive tone. "Luffy broke part of the ship, but it doesn't look like anything that would take very long to fix. I could probably fix that in like a day."

_Oh yeah, forgot that Usopp has some form of basic carpentry, _I thought while munching down on some garlic bread. Yum, garlic bread.

"Wait, you know how to do woodwork?" Nami asked with raised eyebrows.

Usopp nodded his head. "Yeah. Ever since I was kid I like to build stuff, and doing woodwork sorta' came along with doing that too."

"You're a man of many talents Usopp," I said with a rather deadpan voice.

"So you're a sniper and a shipwright; I guess that picking you up was a good thing after all!" Zoro said before taking a sip from _another_ glass of beer. Holy crap Zoro, think about your liver!

Usopp's eyebrow rose in a questioning manner, not fully understanding what he meant. "What do you mean by that Zoro?"

"Well, I thought that since you weren't really that strong, you'd just be here to take out some grunts before you get taken down, sorta' like cannon fodder." Zoro took another swig of his drink, completely missing Usopp's outraged look. "That, or you'd just hide with Nami, while we went to take everyone else out."

"W-What?! Cannon fodder!" Usopp slapped his hand onto the table a couple times while yelling. "Listen here you! Don't compare the greatness that is Captain Usopp to the likes of 'cannon fodder' or else you'll regret it!" Zoro began to laugh, which worked wonders for Usopp's hate.

_This is sorta like watching a small dog bark at a big dog, _I thought while watching the scene, _Or maybe that small guy who talks shit only to get his ass handed to him on a platter deep-fried and salted… with a side of honey mustard._

I was very aware that people were now looking our way, but I honestly didn't care right now. I just didn't… I had no particular fuck that I could give to anyone.

"Ok guys," Nami said to get their attention, "let's get back to the problem. How do we get Luffy out of this?"

"Well we could always, ya' know, just leave," I pointed out, "We're pirates so who cares about the rules." I know that Krieg was coming to fuck shit up, and that would basically secure Luffy's freedom and gave us Sanji, but I'd play along with this so I at least looked like I'm making a contribution. "So why don't we go get Luffy and leave."

"Yeah. But we came here for a chef..." Usopp trailed off. He then snapped his fingers. "I got it, we can just ask that guy with the big arms! Not only can he cook but he can fight too! Did you see how he handled that pirate earlier?!"

I mulled over the idea of Patty joining before declining it. There was zero chance that Patty would ever give up his life as a cook to join a group of pirates.

"Neh, I don't see it happening," I told him with a shake of my head. "Actually, I don't see anyone joining our crew under normal circumstances. We're just a ragtag, upstart group of pirates who barely know what we're doing most of the time."

Usopp still had high hopes though and tried to argue back. "But I'm sure we could—"

"He's right though, the chances of us actually getting a cook here are flat-out zero," Nami interjected, "We would have a better chance finding someone in some smalltime pub than one of the best restaurants in the East Blue."

"Yep. That pretty much sums up our situation," Zoro said while crossing his arms.

"Knowing Luffy, though he'll probably just try and force someone though," I added in.

"Force someone?" Usopp asked in interested.

"How do you think the three of us all joined?" I asked rhetorically while leaning in with a wide-eyed stare. I then pointed to Zoro and Nami and said, "I assure Usopp, none of us joined on our own free will."

"What?" Usopp said before turning to look at my other crewmates. "Is that true?"

Nami's sigh sounded defeated. "Yep."

He looked to Zoro for some form of guidance. "Well at first. But I guess when Patrick puts it like that"...

"Luffy is the _incarnation_ of irritation. He will do everything in his power to get you to say yes. He'll ask and beg—he'll pretty much poke at your nerves until you finally flip you're your shit and say yes!" I spoke while melodramatically waving my hands in front of my face. I paused to scratch at my forehead for a second before continuing.

"Seriously, all we have to do is leave it up to Luffy, and by the end of the day, we'll have a brand new cook who will make us delicious food every day."

Food. that was probably the only upside to having Sanji, besides the extra muscle and the fact that he was an anti-woman repellant. The anime made his food look like something eaten by the gods, and seeing some of the food sorta' made me believe it!

I had a saying. If there was one way to get on my good side, it was through my stomach. Because I was pretty big food slut.

"I wonder what Luffy us doing right now?" Usopp questioned while picking up some garlic bread.

"I bet he's doing something like cleaning dishes or mopping the floor," I said with a wave of my hand.

"More like raiding the fridge," Zoro said which certainly earned a few snorts from me and Nami, and sent Usopp into a childish giggle.

"Well we better find him soon or… SPEAK LUCIFER'S NAME AND HE SHALL APPEAR!"

We spotted Luffy who was running to our table with an apron tide half-hazardously around his waste.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" He yelled angrily at us. "You're eating all this food while I'm here working my butt off?! Why kind of crew are you?!"

"Well I think it's nice to eat most of the food for a change, right Luffy?" I said with a soft giggle before something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. Huh, there's Sanji serving someone some wine. Man the wine loo—

Then, in the other corner of my eye, I saw Luffy come over to my side. He picked his nose before wiping a _big _booger on a slice of pizza that I had set in front of me.

Oh… oh ok. So I was doing this now huh? I was taking over Zoro's role?

_If this was happening back in my world, I'd probably just ignore it and tell him off, _I thought while turning back to look at everyone. They were either looking away or in my direction. But they were all holding back obvious snickers and grins, a dead giveaway as to what was happening. _But since I'm in this situation, I'll just go with it._

"Yum, just look this food," I said while picking up the tainted pizza. I brought it close to my face, mindful of the massive booger (Luffy, clean your fucking nose!), and smelled its contaminated surface. "I have to admit, I didn't have that high of an expectation for this place, but the food is absolutely great!"

I opened my mouth and brought it closer, and everyone watched me with gleeful intensity. Its tip almost met my teeth but did not touch it. It smelled so good, but it was like the apple of Eden, cursed to ruin me with just a bight.

"Actually, I feel sort of bad for you Luffy so… WHY DON'T YOU EAT IT YOURSELF!"

I had it all planned out in my head. I would grab Luffy by the color of his vest with my right hand than take the pizza with my left hand and shove it down the stretchy idiot's gullet. Sadly planning things and actually doing something are two completely different things.

I hopped up from my seat and went to reach for his vest with the pizza in the other, but Luffy being the physical monster that he was easily moved around me, leaving me to stumble past him.

"Missed me!" Luffy cheered with a chuckle.

I smile. "Yeah, well try this on! Hyah!" I tossed the pizza at his face, but he just ducked under it. So that just left it to sail through the air before it smacked into Usopp's face with a meaty splat.

Usopp was covered in pizza sauce, with said pizza hanging across his nose like clothes hanging from a clothesline. The sight was too much!

"BWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

Soon we were all laughing… Well except for Usopp who was yelling hysterically at me.

Luffy had fallen on the floor giggling. He swung his limbs around like some crazed squid. Zoro was slapping the table and had his head tilted back while letting out cries of humor. I couldn't see Nami, but that was because I was currently bent over and using it as a crutch. My lungs were desperately trying to take in oxygen as I let out soundless cackles.

This moment was great. There was no way anything could ruin it!

"OH GOD! IF YOU EXIST, THANK YOU FOR THIS HEAVENLY ANGEL THAT YOU HAVE SENT TO ME!"

_That was my fault. I just jinxed it._

Our good time came to a abrupt halt, like the breaks suddenly pulled on a train. We looked over to Nami who was currently had _someone_ kneeling in front of her. This _someone_ was offering Nami a rose, with an grin that looked a little too big. Nami was absolutely unsettled by this _someone_ and leaned away from _him_ in her seat.

Ugh, Sanji.

"AH YES MY BEAUTIFUL GODDESS! MY HEART COULD NEVER BARE THE BURDEN OF LOVING YOU ACROSS THESE OCEANS!"

EXCALIBUR FACE

Yes, that's right boys and girls! I was so disgusted just now I made the legendary "Excalibur Face" to show it! Sanji's corny flirting skills made me want to vomit a little in my mouth!

"I AM PREPARED TO SET SAIL TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH—NO, TO THE VERY GATES OF HELL, JUST AS LONG AS I CAN BE BY YOUR SIDE!"

EXCALIBUR FACE x10

"TO BE TOGETHER FOREVER, OH HOW I WISH FOR SOMETHING LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN!"

EXCALIBUR FACE x20

"BUT THERE IS NOTHING BUT TRAGEDY FOR US IN THE END! FOR A FORMIDABLE WALL KEEPS ARE LOVE FROM FULLY BLOOMING MY SWEET!"

**EXCALIBUR FACE x100**

"BUT I AM WILLING TO SUFFER THIS BURDEN OF BEING FAR FROM YOU, JUST SO YOU CAN BE HAPPY!"

**EXCALIBUR FACE x100,000,000,000 **

Someone grab me a bucket! I think I'm going to blow chunks!

Remember how I said I hated Sanji? That was not as a character, but as a person. Character-wise, he was funny to watch because he did the most ridiculous things to get the attention of the opposite sex. He was entertaining and funny, and he had those funny eyebrows! There was also that part where he fought Jabra and he used Diable Jambe!

Sanji was a good—no a great character!

But as a person… Excalibur Faces… Excalibur Faces everywhere.

My brain could only think, _Oh my god, what a manwhore. _

And frankly so did my mouth.

"God. This guy is such a piece of shit."

Y'know that moment when you carelessly let something slip out of your mouth, probably something derogatorial and disrespectful, because you just want to voice your thoughts, but just don't want anyone to here you? Of course you have! That was just a rhetorical question.

But do you know that 'OH SHIT' moment when you say it a little _too_ loud, and the person you're talking about hears you.

Well… Sanji was looking at me and he didn't look happy.

What can of worms did I just open?

* * *

**I would like to apologize on behalf of my laziness and lack of getting this done. There was so much stuff to do, like schoolwork and car things and college; it was so annoying! But finally it's done. **

**We will now be moving onto the next chapter soon… whenever that happens. Maybe in a month or less.**

**Also, I'm lookin for a beta. Please say yes.**

**ALSO ALSO, I WILL BE STARTING A NEW STORY SOON! **

**It will either be an Insert for RWBY or Fairy Tail. I don't know because I'm still working out the kinks, but in like, two more chapters, I'll have it out.**

**Anyways, K BYE!**


	20. Chapter 20

**It sure has been a long time since I've done this, hasn't it?**

**NIGRIS is here guys, and I've brought a new chapter along with me! I know that it's been a long time, and I honestly couldn't find a fuck to give for your waiting, but there's a good reason for all of that mojo stuff. **

**Y'see, I've been working on a new story…**

**A story for RWBY… **

**A story that will be **_**amazing**_**…**

**A story that is going TO BE AWESOME!**

**If you're interested in seeing new stuff made by me go check out, Beneath The Covers! It'll be nothing like "Faker"… Y'know, besides the insert part.**

**I will admit I'm a bit disappointed in myself though. Four times did I have to revise it because of grammatical errors and misplaced words, FOUR TIMES! But I fixed them, and I plan on doing the same to the chapters in faker too! If you take a looksee at chapter 19, you'll see it's been revised, and I plan on doing the same to the others.**

**But enough with that! Let's go on our magical adventure, shall we!**

**By the way... filler-ish.**

* * *

**Beta'd By: Undying Soul98**

* * *

**Chapter 20: Progressing To An Oncoming Terror**

* * *

In my own personal opinion I thought I would've died far earlier than this. When you think about it, when you took away my Fullbring and body buffs I was just any typical human being. And I knew that typical human beings are squishy. And well…

When something that is squishy is hit _really _hard, or _dropped_ from a ridiculous height, they tended to go _squish _like any other squishy.

Hell I was just lucky. Eiichiro Oda decided to cut me a break and made sure that when I came here I would at least was going to be able to defend myself. He went to the great Troll God, Tite Kubo, and asked for him to bless me with Fullbring. So at least I could give and receive. Not in a sexual way—b-but I could that too!

I was glad I wasn't weak and let's leave it at that.

Becoming stronger was actually apart of the reason why I was so fit. I saw all these guys who were all _muscled_ and _strong _and I thought, 'Geeze, if I did that I could be muscular and strong too!' So I began my fitness training! I worked out at the gym, at home, and even had some of those protein shakes that tasted funny!

It was hard I tell you. Sometimes I wanted to relax and grab a Coke, or maybe take a few days off. But when Patrick Falso wanted something done, Patrick Falso made sure it was done! And in the end it was worth it, cuz look at me now! I was large (-ish), in charge (-ish), and ready for the world (-ish)! I felt like nothing could stand in my way!

Then I came here, and the pecking order changed drastically.

In this past month I've been nearly killed by an insane giant with an axe-arm, almost murdered by a furry and his crazed lion, and nearly killed by a cat-pedophile and his steroid-induced boss who was a hypnotist. I know it sounded weird, and I've tried to come up with other ways to say it so that it actually sounded realistic. But there was no way to do that.

I swear I had some PTSD because of them.

As crazy as it was though I was happy, smug even, that I had fought and won against them. I battled, defeated, and survived what normal people could never have. I'd used my ridiculous my cunning intuition, sharp and, and barrels full of bullshit. My Fullbring played some part in it too, I couldn't deny that, but most of my victories came from what I felt was luck or coincidence. Henceforth: bullshit. My life these past few weeks is nothing but bullshit, so it might as well be.

But I couldn't help but feel deep down inside me, that one day I could fight. Not by luck or coincidence, and not _bullshit _as I keep calling it, but with my own power. That I could train and properly control this power that was mysteriously gifted me into a fine guard unlike any other. And that I wouldn't have to fight on the sidelines, but in the heat of battle against the most terrifying of foes along with Luffy, Zoro, and everyone else as the first mate I was.

But that day was not today.

_Why can't I just keep my mouth shut? _I fretfully wondered as Sanji rose from his flirting position on his knees. His eyes boar into me from my glaringly crude comment. _I am such and idiotic, egotistical, and arrogant prick! _He stood at his full height… Oh, I was taller than him._ Wait! Height doesn't mean anything! C-rap! I said I wouldn't try to piss him off like an hour a-go! Why did I do what I explicitly told myself I wouldn't do?! _I cried internally, even when the answer was so simple.

I was the type of person who talked a lot of shit, even though he couldn't choose rude dialogue options in games because they were scared of hurting a character's feelings.

"Hey you," Sanji said, his tone hinting his soured mood. He strode towards me with his hands in his pockets. His single visible eye glared into both of mine, and I instantly knew that I didn't like being on the receiving end of it. "What did you just call me, you bastard?" Sanji was now in front of me and I was too scared to move back. "Did you just call me 'a piece of shit?' he questioned, though we both knew the answer.

"H-Huh? I-I b…" I inherently sputtered.

But this cook wouldn't take that as an answer. "Don't stutter over your words! You just called me out, so you better be ready to pay for the consequences!" I gulped loudly. I took my eyes of him to quickly grasp the situation around me.

Usopp was staring worriedly along with Nami. Zoro on the other hand had backed up and watched my confrontation coolly. Luffy was on the other side of the table… stuffing his face… I didn't know how to feel about that. As for the restaurant, the patrons had their eyes glued on us.

"So? Speak up already _bub_," Sanji said, and I had to take a single step back when he took one forward. "You had the guts to say something pal, especially something like that in front of a such a _beautiful lady_," he stressed those last words pausing, making a face I could only describe as lecherous, before resuming his horrid glare. "So unless you don't want me to rip them out and flambé them, you better start talking."

I was frozen like a statue. All I could do was stay still and stare deeply into Sanji's eyes, too afraid to move out of fear of having my teeth kicked out. My blood was pumping, and I could hear the fast, rhythmic beat in both ears. My hands shook with palms damp with sweat. Adrenaline was pumping through my veins.

This was Fight or Flight, and both options weren't looking so grand.

_I have dropped the metaphorical soap, _I thought with misery.

_Shit_—_shit_—_shit__! I've really screwed the pooch this time! _I cried pathetically. I inwardly groaned. So this was how I died, like that Six-Flags kid who got his head punted off. Well there could be worse—no shut up! _No! I have to stay calm! When has panicking done any good?!_

"Come on shit-head! I don't have all day!" Sanji suddenly hollered, signifying my time was almost up.

_C'mon, brain, you've gotten me out of worse situations! _I smoothed out my breathing._ I'll just get kicked in the back of the head if I run. _Crossing that off the list. _It doesn't look like anyone is about to help at this point! _Crossing that off too. _The chefs, they could… I don't see them. Where are the chefs?! _Cross that off again. _Slaying Moon is in my pocket, but Sanji'll think I'm reaching for a weapon. S_o Fullbring was out of the question. I might as well just do the dirty work for Sanji and save his time! _And I doubt I could ever beat him in a fight—_

"That's it, start talking are I'm turning your ass into a new home for my shoe!"

—_Wait! Wait! That's it! _A plan began to form in my head._ Fighting! I don't have to punches! I could never fight Sanji upfront anyways! But who said I ever fought upfront!_ _In a brawl, people don't expect the unexpected. They just think it's about trying to knock the other guy out first. And I'm sure Sanji will think the same way too!_

Like a puzzle, all the pieces came together. I could see every detail of it, and I had to give a mental nod of approval of it. It might've not been the best I could think of, but it surely wasn't bad. And as long as I played my hand correctly, I had a gut feeling that things would go great!

_Time to bullshit my way to victory once again!_

"If that's how you want it," Sanji said while moving his foot. Shit gotta' move! "Then get prepared for—"

"I didn't call you a piece of shit!" I cried out. I held my hands out placatingly. "I don't know what the problem is sir, but I would never call you that!"

"Don't you dare lie to my face!" Sanji growled while jabbing me with a finger, the force behind it strong enough to make me wobble. "I heard it clear as day! Don't think you can worm your way out of this one you piece of shit!" Sanji's pissed. Unlike before though I was surprisingly calmer about the situation. I would go as far as to say cocky. I recognized the threat Sanji proposed, but it just didn't register as something I should worry about.

I was arrogant with a capital _every _single letter.

"And now you're gonna' pay!"

"Like I said man, I didn't call you a piece of shit," I insisted again, "What I really meant was you're a manwhore!"

The shade of red that came on his face looked unnatural… And Luffy was laughing. My comment had him seconds away from having heat-vision to melt my skull.

"HOW THE HELL IS THAT ANY BETTER YOU JACKASS?!" he roared in my face, and I had to tilt my head back from the rain of spittle.

"Well I actually _thought _that," I corrected, "It was that or stupid cunt, but I made the right call, right?" I asked rhetorically as I prayed this worked. If not, Luffy was going to have to find a new first mate. "So yeah!_ You_, are a massive _manwhore_!"

"You son of a bitch!" Sanji shouted at the top of his lungs, "Your friends are going to have to scrape you off the wall when I'm done with—"

"WAIT!" I hollered the loudest I could. It was sudden and threw Sanji off for a moment, but a moment was all I needed.

"NOW FOR PART ONE OF MY PLAN!"

"H-Huh? What in the Hell—"

"_DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA MACARENA~!"_

"_QUE TU CUERPO ES PA' DARLE ALERGIA Y COSA BUENA~!"_

"_DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA, MACARENA~!"_

"_HEEEEEEEEY MACARENA~!"_

If were to call me stupid I would full-heartedly agree, because I felt _pretty _stupid. I felt like the biggest twat—idiot—blockhead, in that specific order of degradating words. I was delighted to know of the absence of technological that my world had; I was 100% sure that if the internet existed, or cellphones had been used instead of those stupid snails, that I'd be on Facebook faster than you could say 'PseudoPseudohypoparathyroidism,' three times over.

You see the first part of my plan was blatantly obvious: distraction. I had to get Sanji to lower his guard, by any means necessary. It was crucial this happened, or the rest of my plan would be shredded to ribbons. So I did the most distracting, stupendous, insane thing I could think of.

"_DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA MACARENA~!"_

"_QUE TU CUERPO ES PA' DARLE ALEGRIA Y COSA BUENA~!"_

"_DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA, MACARENA~!"_

"_HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY MACARENA~!"_

I'm going to have the time of my life telling my grandchildren how I did the Macarena, at the top of my lungs, in front of my friends and a giant crowd… on a ship that looked like a fish. And you'd be wrong to think I was just singing. I was doing the hand motions and the butt slap; _everything_!

Why? Well if I was going to fuck up, I might as well go big… _OR GO FUCKING HOME_!

"_DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA MACARENA~!"_

"_QUE TU CUERPO ES PA' DARLE ALEGRIA Y COSA BUENA~!"_

"_DALE A TU CUERPO ALEGRIA, MACARENA~!"_

"_HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY MACARENA~!"_

And to say it wasn't working is like saying I went to PornHub to only see if the plumber unclogs the sink! You should've seen the look on that blonde prick's face! Sanji was gaping at me slack-jawed in great disbelief and confusion. Nami gaped in a similar fashion, along with Usopp, Zoro, and just about everyone. As for Luffy…

"YEAH PATRICK! DANCE LIKE THERE'S NO TOMMAROW!"

_... Public embarrassment better be worth it in the end!_

I had everyone's attention. I was sure everyone in this restaurant was thinking, 'what in the blazes is this foolish plebian doing? Would that ruffian chef come and toss this monkey out!' as I danced and sung. Well that's what I thought, and it was a pretty good representation in my book! Sanji was finally able to get a grasp of the situation and began to yell. Sucks to be him though, part one of my plan was _over_.

"W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YO—"

"NOW FOR PART TWO MY PLAN!"

"—W-WHAT PLAN?! THE FUCK—"

"NUT SHOT!"

-BAM-

"GYEEEEEEEEEE!"

That was part two: a well-placed kick to the Jimmy Johnsons.

This wasn't your average nut-shot either. This was swift, full-on foot-to-testicle-and-scrotum contact. The kind that made men cry, women cringe, and God himself, turn an eye to it.

The moment foot-to-groin contact happened a high-pitched squeal was let loose from Sanji's mouth, not unlike a frightened pig. Then his legs gave out from beneath him and he fell to his knees grasping his nonexistent-family jewels, then went onto his side, curling up into a tight ball.

As I looked down upon my fallen opponent, who was muttering what could have been a string of curses or just plain, old ill will upon me, I had to wonder why people just didn't just aim there more often. 'It's a pussy move! It's not honorable! It's not manly!'

Well here's some food for thought stupids! It doesn't matter if it's honorable or not! The point of fighting is taking a person down quick and efficiently, and swift kick to the dick will do it!

You could take out anyone! Some random fat guy! George! Cthulu… Does he have a penis?

Not Terry Crews though. He had "Double Sun Power" for a reason! Also he's jacked; his blood was probably _pure _testosterone.

_Yeeeees~! All according to keikaku. All according to keikaku._

"Did you seriously start singing and dancing like an idiot just so you could kick that guy in the nuts?" Zoro asked me with a look that said he had a hard time understanding what just happened

"Zoro I will do a lot if it means I can avoid an ass-kicking," I spoke, with honest words.

"What the heck were you singing anyways, and that weird dance too?" Usopp questioned. "It looked like some kind of curse."

"It was," I said half-hazardously.

"OH MY GOD YOU CAN DO CURSES! THAT IS SO COOL!" Luffy cried out, his eyes glistening with a weird brightness. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU COULD DO CURSES?! THAT MEANS YOU CAN BE OUT CREW'S WIZARD!"

"Luffy, I was over exaggerating," I explained to his small mind.

"Over-what now?" By the Gods! _Luffy_!

"It wasn't a curse. I lied."

Luffy groaned dejectedly. "Wha'! Why'd ya' do that?"

"Because I'm an ass," I answered, folding my arms across my chest and heaving a sigh. My annoyance with Luffy vanished like smoke though when something grabbed me around the ankle. Next thing y'know my leg was pulled out from under me and I collapsed onto my back-side. "Ouch what the fuuuu_uooooooh boy_!" I cried out. Surprise turned to fear making my words shift in mid-sentence.

Sanji had me by the leg. I found that to be somehow ironic for some misplaced reason.

"_You… b-bastard." _Who knew words could have such _hate _in them! "Y-You. Are. _Dead_!"

_OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAHH!_

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAHH!"

Shit-titty-ass-cocks! This wasn't supposed to happen! I was supposed to dance and sing, then I'd kick him in the balls, then I'd… I'd… Oh.

_I didn't think that far, _I realized in astonishment, _Why am I such a goofer?_

Sanji's face had twisted with maddening anger, the same way the sea contorts under a violent storm. He grabbed me by the other leg and pulled me in, and I suddenly couldn't help but compare my situation to that of a defenseless, Japanese schoolgirl that was about to be put into a _bad_ situation with a tentacle monster.

_NOPENOPENOPENOPE!_

"Usopp!" I called out as I tried to crawl away, only to be pulled in further by Sanji's superior strength! "Operation: "Terra-Spear" is go!"

"W-What?" _Goddammit Usopp_!

"GIVE ME A FUCKING CHAIR! _GIVE ME A FUCKING CHAIR_!"

And so I was handed a chair, which I used to hit Sanji over the head. My blow wasn't strong enough to actually hurt him, nor did it break over the stupid cook's head, but it was enough. His viper-grip on my ankles loosened and soon I was running away like a majestic doe!

"AIAIAIAIA_AAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE_!

I'm sorry did I say doe? I meant like a little girl.

"HEEEEEEEELP! HE'S GOING TO _RAPE MEEEEEEEEEEE_!"

I sprinted away from with a burst of fear and adrenaline and pulled out Slaying Moon from my pocket in order to activate it at a seconds notice. I weaved through tables like a needle and thread, scaring off patrons as I passed by. I felt I was at a safe distance so turned back to see Sanji on his feet again, and he was angry-_angry_-_angry_.

Well I might as well aggravate him more!

"COME OVER HERE YOU SONOVA' BITCH!" he roared with monstrous wrath. People began to move.

I slapped my knees twice. I slapped my stomach twice. I slapped my chest thrice.

"YOU WANNA' GO MOTHERFUCKER! I WILL 420 NO-SCOPE YOU BITCH! GET REKT!"

Truly I'm a gentleman, m'ladies. One that new proper etiquette of the ages.

"COME AT ME BRO!"

"I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU!" Sanji roared and—OH SHIT! RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!

Sprinting! Running! dodge! Don't trip! These were my thoughts as I maneuvered by tables with an enraged chef on my tail. Customers ran and jumped out of the way of our reckless cat-chase, and for good reason. As I knocked over chairs and tried not to fall over when I nearly ran into tables, Sanji was basically the kid who trained for "Hopscotch Olympics." All those years of catering and being a waiter here had made it easy for him swiftly move by table—OH CRAP MOVE!

"AIIIIIH-I-H-I-H-I-H-I!" I let out pathetic squeal and I ducked into a roll to dodge a flying kick from Sanji. He had given up on running through the obstacle course of furniture and decided to just hop along the tables like a frog hopping to Lillie pads.

"**You ready! I'm going to kick you're fucking head off!"**

_Oh, he sounds maaaaaad~_…

Slaying Moon was active for the first time today, the black Spiritual Energy flowing out from the Combat-Pass to take on its swastika shape. It was held out in front of me, close to my body in preparation for any other anything Sanji was willing to "throw" at me. And just in time too, as Sanji jumped into the air and loaded off a barrage of kicks.

-BAM- -BAM- -BAM- -BAM- -BAM-

Thankfully the power of plot was on my side today, and I was able to maneuver Slaying Moon so that it could take the full brunt of his attacks, absorbing most of the impact behind it. It was enough to slide me back some and hit the table behind me. I recovered though, and decided my best option was to continue running. With the threat Zeff forcing me to work here if I broke something, I didn't want to throw anything off. I knew that in the end it wouldn't matter because beating Krieg was basically a free-ticket to leave, but I didn't want to work here.

Despite my strong work ethic I was really lazy.

Sanji jumped toward me in a spinning kick. A curse flew out of my mouth as I ducked under him feeling airflow over me. I didn't waste time when I spun around to face the table behind me that he landed on, to block another kick. I was pushed back once again.

"For a piece of shit with a big mouth, you aren't bad," Sanji commented dully, hints of his bubbling rage in the back of his voice. His leg whipped out I blocked, but he kept on leaning in to push down on me. His hate from earlier was not gone. "Especially with that weird weapon of yours."

"Th-Thanks," was the snarky reply I grunted, "I _tr-try_ my _be-st_."

He grunted back. "Well your best isn't good enough!"

It was at this moment was I shown the gap in our powers. Two more kicks came my way but I held them off with Slaying Moon. He jumped over my head, throwing two more kicks in mid-flight like bullets. I was able to block the first one, but the second caught my shoulder and I let out a cry of pain. When he landed, he chambered his leg and shot it out, and—

-BAM-

_Ouch… My stomach…_

Ceiling. Floor. Ceiling. Floor. Ceiling. Floor. Ceiling, floor, ceiling, floor, ceiling, floor, ceiling—floor—ceiling—floor—ceiling_—_floor—

-THUMP-

… Wall…

I groaned when I slid down the wall and I fell onto all fours. My back, head, and diaphragm seared with the utmost agony. Sanji's last kick did it in for me, and God did it _hurt_! No wonder he was able to break bones and splinter wood, his legs were _fucking powerful_! I and pulled out an arm from under me to feel my ribs and winced. Were my ribs broken? I hoped not.

_He was playing with me the entire time, _I realized quickly. I wasn't mad about it. Sanji had years of training, just like Zoro and Luffy had. _He has a lot more experience under his belt than I do; that last blow proves it! And that power! Damn! If I took that to the head it would've been lights out for me!_

Up... Up... Up! I got to my feet with a groan. I looked to see—GOD DAMN SANJI!

The chef was on me again like a bad fart. He lashed out with a kick that I just managed to block, but the force behind it lifted me off my feet. I hit the wall a second time and let out a pained grunt. He tried to switch legs to strike again, but this time I was ready. I lashed out at him with Slaying Moon, swung it wildly, before making a break for it.

_Why isn't anyone helping me!_ I looked for some of the chefs, because surely they would've come out by now in all of the commotion! But _no _I didn't see them anywhere!

_Just what the hell are they doing?!_

* * *

If you were to peak inside the kitchen doors of the Baratie, you would see the many faces of the chefs who were responsible for the production and creation of the delicious and equally nutritious dishes for the customers whom they served, peeking out the double doors that lead to the dining area of the floating restaurant.

Currently they were watching as their colleague Sanji rampaged across the ship, chasing after the shmuck with the weird boomerang, who was unlucky enough to piss him off.

They watched as the guy was just able to duck under Sanji's kick with a girlish scream. Their customers were running for the walls in hopes of staying out of the confrontation, abandoning their tables and food for safety. The only ones who hadn't run was some green-haired guy, a long-nosed kid, a ginger gal, and that idiot chore boy who literally broke everything he touched.

But that wasn't important. What mattered was that Sanji was storming through the restaurant like a raging bull, and there was nothing they could do. And while he hadn't made any major damage to their lovely ship, that was practically a home to them, it was only a matter of time before he did something they could not fix. Sanji had to be stopped!

"TAKE IT LIKE A MAN!"

-CRASH-

"I'M NOT A MAN!"

But while on one hand they wanted to stop him, they didn't want to get caught up in his fight either. Some of the chefs had been unlucky enough to be caught on the wrong end of Sanji's leg, and they knew the damage they could cause.

"HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!"

-CRASH- -CRASH- -THUNK-

Sure, they could've gone to Boss Man Zeff to end this debacle, but he had gone up to his room for some rest, what with that stupid Marine officer and crazed pirate running a muck. And you do not wake up Boss Man Zeff when he's taking his nap.

Some of the cooks, the ones that'd been working at the Baratie for years, remembered a time when some poor idiot, a newbie with only a few weeks under his belt, decided it would be the good idea to wake up the man with marvelous moustache because of some unclear directions.

What had happened had been burned into their brains forever.

"_WHAT THE— (-BAM-) —HELL DO YOU— (-CRASH- -SMASH-) —THINK YOU'RE DOING?!_

"_GYAAK!"_

_-CRASH- -BAM- -CRUNCH- -THUNK-_

"_I'M SOOOORY! GYAHH!"_

"_YOU'RE SORRY?! (-SHINK- -SHINK- SHINK-) I'M SORRY I HIRED A LITTLE SHIT LIKE YOU!"_

"_I UNDERSTAND! I UNDERSTAND!"_

That day was never forgotten. The idiot ended up with a broken nose, a swollen-shut black eye, and two broken fingers. The moment he could though, the kid quit (Though Zeff always said he fired him, and nobody questioned him on it), and caught the next boat out of their with his tail between his legs.

On that day a silent rule was made: never wake up The Boss while he's napping.

But that left them all in quite the unpleasant bind that surely lead to a horrible end. They could not stop this fight, and going to Zeff was pretty much out of the question for them too. So that only left them with one option left.

Make bets.

"I'm betting 50 Berris that Sanji smashed the kids head into the floor," called Patty.

"I say the kid puts up a bit of fight before going down for… 45 Berris," was Carne's paused answer.

Some other chef, Carlton, rubbed his chin. "I think Sanji will get his ass handed to him on a silver platter when Zeff sees the mess he's caused," he finally bet. "I'm betting 150 Berris."

There was a pause from both of them.

"When you put it like that Carl…"

"Now that I think about it—"

"Nope!" Carl crossed his arms and gave a mild glare. "Don't be a baby! Hold up to your bets!"

Truly the "mighty" chefs of the "floating oasis" of the East Blue, were doing all that they could.

* * *

"HOLY SHIT!" I cried while dodging another kick. I bent to let another go by. "MOTHERFUCKER!"

"You ready to give up yet?!" Sanji roared.

"GYAAAAAYAAAYAAAYAAARGH!" I answered back.

_So the chefs aren't helping! Well what about everyone else? _I waved to my crewmates for support.

"Hey Patrick!" Luffy waved back. "You sure made this place a whole lot funner!" He proceeded to laugh.

Zoro was watching at his seat at the table, one of the many tables that hadn't fallen over, drinking what looked like beer, enjoying my execution like some show. Usopp was looking very unsure on what to do, and Nami looked very displeased about the situation I had caused.

I felt for her, I was very displeased about the situation I had caused too.

_Damn it why won't they help me?_

I couldn't see Zoro coming to my aid. I got myself into this mess and I'm sure he expected me to get myself out of it. Luffy… yeah. I didn't expect much from Usopp, he wouldn't be very useful in this situation. And Nami was an obvious answer. We despised one another.

_Oh God, I'm on my own! _I cried inwardly.

I was outsmarted, out-beaten, and surely defeated in other ways I wasn't about to list. And it was all because of my big mouth. So in my moment of absolute despair, I used my last ace in the hole.

I prayed… to whatever. Because being here really screwed up my concept of their being "God," "Gods," "Soul King," or just "Oda."

_Oh Lord in whatever, please save me! I'll do everything in my power to keep my mouth shut! I'll be nice to Nami, I'll help people, and I won't be an egotistical ass! And—_

-BAM-

Oh good day to you Sir Floor, my good old friend! Isn't it unusual how we seem to meet up in such strange situations? And don't think I don't see you over there Madam Pain And Agony! How have you been; how are the children?!

But seriously, ow! My face and back!

Obviously Sanji's (Who else could it be?) foot had connected again, and hit me in the back, making me fall to the floor in pain. I rolled over to see Sanji standing over me.

"Any last words?"

"_Gyeearghaahahgyargphh_!"

Sanji didn't say anything to my gargled cry and instead decided to finish it. His foot came up, and though I turned my head away, I couldn't help but watch, mesmerized with horror.

But Sanji would not go any further than that! For God heard my pleading and answered… _IN EGGS_!

-WHOOSH- -SPLESH-

Sanji was suddenly hit with eggs. Yoke and cracked shell clung to the side of his head, sticking to his hair and drooping down his face. I looked to see Usopp! HE HAD HIS SLINGSHOT OUT! HE PROTECTED ME!

_So there was a reason why he's called "God" Usopp!_

"Don't worry Patrick I got your back!" he bellowed with his small frame. And I admit it was pretty cool!

"YEAH USOPP! POWER FRIENDSHIP—I MEANT FIRSHIP—FR-FRIENDSHLOP—OH WHATEVER!"

Sanji's initial surprise became only anger in an instant. He growled animalistically at Usopp, who squealed in fright, and sent him his nastiest glare.

"You want some too!"

"N-No! I-I-I don't!" Usopp was scared. But he wouldn't be for long, as I'd put his distraction to better use.

Using what little time I'd been gifted with, I kicked Sanji's leg out from beneath him. Without any proper balance, Sanji was sent tumbling down to the ground for the second time today. I got to my feet and swung Slaying Moon at his body a few times before I sprinted for the exit! Freedom!

"UUUUUOOOOOOOOOHH!" I roared with a strong will and mostly adrenaline, but the point was targets sighted! LOCKED ON! "TO FREEEEEDOOOOOOM!"

I heard Sanji from behind me, and whether it was anger directed at Usopp or me I didn't care! I could see the gates to Heaven within my reach… right… about… NOW!

I used my forearms to smash open the double-doors to the entrance of the Baratie, like some angry ram chasing after the butt of the sad human who was dumb enough to taunt it. I was on the small area that served as the Baratie's deck, and I spotted the small ship Johnny and Yosaku had lent us.

AKA: My escape vehicle.

I sprinted over to where the ship was tied and began to fiddle with the rope that kept it tethered. Damn the knot was tight but I think that if I pull out the piece of rope right...

..._I don't how to sail a ship, _I suddenly had the realization,_ I should really learn to how to—_

Then the doors slammed open to reveal an angry, egg covered, pissed off, eggshell splatter, enraged—o-o-ok the point was made. Sanji was _suuuuuuuuuuuper~ _pissed off. His body shook with barely contained wrath of a billion supernovas. And there was no doubt in my mind that his anger was directed towards a certain Fullbringer that was a bit arrogant and egotistical.

It was I. I was the arrogant and egotistical Fullbringer. I was the _only _arrogant and egotistical Fullbringer.

"**You… are… DEAD**! **YOU** _**MOTHERFUCKER**_**!"**

_I… I think I've spent enough time here. I think I should leave._

I got to my feet and went into a wide-standing stance, my arms out in front of me with my hands open. I looked like a football player ready to receive all of Sanji's built up aggression before I took a glance at the ocean.

_Should I jump into the ocean and swim to the Going Merry? _I thought at that second.

Hmmm, let's see. Jump into the ocean… Death. Both seemed like viable options, with equally good—

"OK! NOPE—NOPE—NOPE—FUCK YOU!"

-SPLASH-

I jumped feet-first into the ocean. It was cold as balls and I suddenly had regrets. My eyes were burning, and some water went up my nose, but I wouldn't let that deter me! My life was on the line and I was going to let a little salt-plagued water get in my way!

BREASTSTROKE—BUTTERFLY—DOGGY PADDLE—FREE STYLE—SWIM, SWIM, SWIM, SWIM, _SWIM_!

Over the cold ocean water sloshing in my ears with each stroke I could make out the roars of an angry chef with the libido of a horny chihuahua yet to be neutered. I thought that Sanji, with all his hate, was going to follow after me, because he looked like he'd follow me though rain, sleet, and snow, and overall to the entrance of Hell.

God said 'Nope!' though, and Sanji just stood at the edge of the deck cursing me out, calling me a bitch, a pussy, and whole bunch more rude names in his violent anger. I could see Nami and Luffy come out, along with some patrons and chefs too. In the end I was safe now from the crazy, perverted, weird-eye-browed chef though. That's what's truly important.

There were no more threats around me, so I began a 20-minute journey to the Going Merry. We hadn't anchored that far off from the Baratie, making the distance swimmable. I'd been fending off one berserking Sanji from sticking his shiny shoe up my ass, so I was tired and achy all over. Not to mention I was watching out for any sharks that decided they wanted to fill their fishy-bellies with Patrick-Yum-Yum Meat.

But the thought of a _nice_ shower, laying in my _cozy_ hammock under my _warm _blanket, and _forgetting_ this crazy day ever happened was more than an incentive to continue.

And after getting through the bitchin' mishap of climbing up the Going Merry's side I stood on the deck.

_I'm wet, my backside is hurting, and I feel like curling up into a ball. That sounds like a bad case of Prison Bitch Syndrome._

Johnny and Yosaku ran up to me asking what had happened, like why I had swam back, or why I was covered in bruises.

They started to freak out too, and began to go all crazy.

"I knew we shouldn't have gone on that ship!" roared Johnny pathetically.

They began to cry too.

"Big Bro Zoro, Big Bro Luffy, Big Bro Usopp, Big Sis Nami!_ NOOOOOOOOO_!" Yosaku cried out with crocodile tears.

Then they began to say stupid stuff.

"Let's go save them guys!" roared Johnny while raising his cleaver. Yosaku joined him.

So I took the time to calm them down, reassuring them that everything was all right, that the crew was ok, and told them to shut up and do whatever they'd been doing before (Which involved tic-tac-toe, card games, or that Japanese version of chess). I made a beeline to the bathroom after dealing with that nonsense and bathed in warm water that felt almost_ heavenly_.

Soon I was laying in my hammock under my blanket, with a new pair of clothes on with my old ones in a soggy bundle in the corner. I shuffled my body onto my right and pushed my head deep into the pillow.

_Let's just forget this day ever happened, _I thought as exhaustion took me into his/her/its hands and dragged me into slumber. _Hopefully when I wake up everything will blow over and be ok._

* * *

It wasn't…

Do you know how I imagined waking up? First I thought of just waking up, and then I imagined that this was just a dream and I'd just wake up in my dorm room. After that I just thought that that I'd wake up in a hospital room and a doctor would come in and tell me I had been in a coma.

But how I woke up was not how I imagined.

"_YOU SON OF BITCH! WAKE THE HELL UP!"_

_-SMACK- -BAM- -CRASH-_

"_AARGH!"_

Because "Queen Bitch-Skank-Whore-Cock Loving" Nami decided to wake me up with a knuckle sandwich straight to the face. And it did not taste good at all… _because_ it was a knuckle sandwich… _As in_ her fist… _As in_ it hurt... _badly_.

Her strength was enough to make me cry out in pain, flip me off my _cozy_ hammock (That was _very _cozy might I add), throw my disgruntled self to the wood floor (Which fucking hurt!), and leave me in a tired mess of limbs tied in confusion.

Then I was angry and we began another pissing match between each other where I spat as many obscene curses as possible and she insulted me in every way physically possible. But it ended in her victory when she kicked me in the shin and I fell over, banging my head into the side of the coffee.

Let us leave it there. Because I don't want to go into how I was rolling around on the ground crying in pain.

After that little debacle I demanded to know just why she had decided to smite my defenseless form!

"_THAT STUPID ASS STUNT YOU PULLED EARLIER LANDED LUFFY WITH ANOTHER YEAR OF WORK!"_

_-BAM-_

"_STOP THAT NAMI OR I WILL BEAT YOUR—"_

_-BAM- -SMACK- -THUNK-_

"_YOU SHUT UP! YOU DON'T GET THE RIGHT TO SPEAK!"_

In the end, besides my aching head and general body pain, my left eye now sported a shiny new black paint job. It stung like crap and blinking hurt, but I was in between being to lazy and just being to stubborn to put ice on it. Besides I had advanced healing now and I was going to milk it for all it's worth!

On another note where did she get that freakish strength from? It's like as soon as she got pissed off, she got STR hax and just wiped the floor with everyone. It was like she became the embodiment of Naru Narusegawa from the shit anime Love Hina. Y'know the one, that anime, that was really shitty!

Whatever, it was an anime cliché. I didn't really need to bother worrying over it. I just needed to make sure that when she's throwing fists that I wasn't on the receiving end! Then BAM, problem solved! I was so smart; who's a regular, intellectual genius? Patrick Falso that's who!

Enough with praising my overall superior greatness amongst all the other rubbish of this world though, let's get back to the story at hand.

I had gotten up from my near-catatonic state of pain to see the rest of the crew. I took notice of how the sun was setting before I met Luffy. My captain told me how funny my "fight" with Sanji was with a shit-eating grin while laughing. Zoro agreed too, finding my brush with death hilarious.

I was sending disdainful glares their way after that, but it didn't affect them in the slightest. I thanked Usopp too for his cover fire, because when the time really called for it grew a pair and helped me out! He got all embarrassed and bashful about it, which I found amusing, but the moment he went into one of his crazy spiels of 'The Mighty Captain Usopp' I decided to hightail it.

We met in the kitchen soon after. Nami had gotten Usopp and Zoro to uh… unlawfully borrow for the rest of time and space, and all of existence for that matter, some food from the Baratie's kitchen in all of the commotion. No it wasn't that we didn't have food, it's just that their food was leagues better than ours.

And with the crazy stuff earlier, I didn't want to cook.

I took a reheated leg of chicken and stuffed it in my mouth. _I could've used this a few weeks ago back at college, _I thought to myself as I looked around the table at everyone eating their own food. And Luffy too, who stole off of Usopp's and Yosaku's plates which they'd cry out in frustration too. _Even as leftovers this stuff is to die for. I mean holy crap, it's like a bar mitzvah on my tongue!_

We ate our food, though it was mostly dealing with Luffy as he took every chance he could to swipe off our plates. He had to stop though when he tried to do the same thing to Nami and she stabbed the offending hand with her fork. Being smart like I, Usopp finished all his food before the rubber idiot could snatch anything more. Gizmos lay about in front of him and he tweaked screws and twisted nuts with tiny utility tools from a tiny tool case—it was cute—not Usopp, the tools.

As for the rest of us, well we just talked, mostly consisting off Luffy, Johnny and Yosaku conversing about unusual topics while I just added in every once in a while. Things began to wind down before Nami decided to call a meeting on everything that's happened today.

Nami cleared her throat. "So besides _someone _screwing up—"

"In my defense," I exclaimed loudly to get everyone's attention, "I had no idea it one end up that way!"

"Who gives a crap! You nearly had us all working at that ship for entire year!" Nami yelled, slamming her hands on the table while glaring at me. "And it's all because of your _big _MOUTH!"

"How da' fuck was I supposed to know Swirly-Brow had fucking super-hearing!" I roared back to make my weak defense sound somewhat eligible. "I thought you'd be thanking me, seeing as I kept him from licking the bottom of your foot and humping your leg like some horny dog!" I smashed my hand into the table, making Usopp yelp when one of his devices hopped. "No wait! I bet you'd like that wouldn't you! Having you very own _MAN-SLAVE!"_

"Don't you even think about turning this back on me!" Nami screeched. "Because of that crazy brawl you had, who knows what could happen now," she roared scathingly, "For all we know we might be banned from stepping a single foot on the deck of that ship ever again!" She got up from her spot to point an accusing finger down at me. "And it's all _your_ _fault_!"

"OH _IS IT_ NOW!" I roared while getting up to meat her glacial glare with my blazing glower.

"THAT'S RIGHT YOU SMALL-DICKED BASTARD!"

"YOU HAVE SAGGY TITS AND A FLABBY VAGINA!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU DISGUSTING PIG?!"

Yosaku tried to step in. "N-Now guys, I think we should all just—"

We both turned to him and glared. "SHUT UP!" we shouted at the exact same time. We turned our attention back to ourselves, goading the other to say something else.

"GODDAMMIT THAT'S ENOUGH YOU TWO! STOP ACTING LIKE A BUNCH OF KIDS!"

Zoro cut in roaring like a dragon. He smashed his katana on the table and the sound of wood cracking along wood was booming. It was a judge using his gavel to silence the courtroom, and reverberated through the small kitchen. I went to lash out at the swordsman verbally, as did Nami, but Zoro's glare was both ice-cold and ragingly hot, and forcefully suppressed our anger.

It was deadly silent, with tension thicker than oil. The only thing my ears could make out was the shaky breathes of Usopp and the Idiot Duo, and the sloshing waves outside. The only person who didn't seem affected was Luffy, who was watching the scene play out in between curiosity and boredom. It was like this for a tad longer before I decided to sit down, Nami following my lead.

Johnny and Yosaku both let out a breath while Usopp gulped loudly. Our captain was eating a loaf of bread from wherever. As for Nami and I, we kept our eyes solely on Zoro.

"Patrick, Nami's right. The stunt you pulled really screwed with our chances of getting a chef from here." (_Yes, our already abysmal chances...) _"So that means we travelled to this place all for nothing." (_What, no way! You wanted to come here because of the rumors of Hawkeye being here!) _

I shook my head. I shouldn't criticize Zoro like this! I was a prideful dick, not a prideful idiot, no matter what my past screw-ups may say about me.

"Yeah, I fucked up…" I said gloomishly, looking down like a punished child. "I just, sorta panicked when he threatened to kick my ass. The threat of pain scares the testicles off of me."

"I understand—" Usopp said reassuringly.

"Me too—" said Johnny.

"I as well—" agreed Yosaku.

"_Pppphhht_!" I couldn't help but let out with pursed lips.

"You three shut up!" Zoro commanded and they most definitely did, along with a hurried 'sorry.' He then turned his eyes back to me, and though his glare didn't have the same power as before, his stare kept anything else from leaving my mouth. "Like I said, you royally screwed up, and what you did might just cost the crew a chance of getting a chef.

"Mm-hmm," was my rather guilty answer. If there's one way to get to me, it was through guilt. Major… major, guilt. "I'm sorry."

Zoro let out a sigh. "Whatever. It's a bit to late to get mad about it now." I let out a relieved sigh. I was glad he wasn't angry with me, I didn't want to ruin our relationship. "Besides, it was pretty funny seeing that cook cursing on the deck while you swam away," he said with a grin that I couldn't help but grin back to.

"I thought it was funny when Usopp shot that egg at him!"

"Hihihihihihi! Yeah, that was pretty funny!" Luffy agreed, giggling all the way. Johnny and Yosaku looked fairly left out. But they weren't there, so they didn't know the full insanity of what happened.

"Yeah that's right, good job Usopp!" I said as I smacked him in the arm lightly. "Thanks for saving my ass!"

"I-It's alright! Don't worry about it!" he said with an embarrassed blush that crawled up his face. "When you're ever in trouble, just count on me to have your back!"

"Still, thanks!"

"Speaking of trouble," Nami cut in, sending me a glare which I returned for convenience's sake, "Don't go doing stuff like that again!"

"What Nami said!" Luffy suddenly cut in, and I had to honestly gape as Luffy, my captain, and _full-blown_ moron started _scolding_ me! "Next time you do something like that, don't leave me out on it!"

I stopped gaping. _Oh never mind. That's very Luffy-like of him._

"—_NO_!" Nami yelled whilst reaching over and smacking him upside the head. She sat back down and glared at all of us, mostly me—it was just me. "Don't go doing stuff like that again! If you do I'll punch you in the freakin' throat!"

"Aye, aye, _Captain_!" I said with obvious sarcasm. I even went as far as to give her a lazy forehead-salute. "I'll do _just_ that!"

"_You arrogant son a…_"

"Oi, I'm the captain!" Luffy said with puffed up cheecks. "How many times do I have to say it?"

"Luffy…" Nami moaned out while holding her head, trying to fend off the headache our idiot captain was giving her. She took a deep breath. "He didn't mean it literally. It was a figure of speech. Fi-_gu_-re o-_f_ sp-_eech_," she sounded out slowly, saying each part to him with exaggeration and emphasis.

"Literally? Figure-what?" Luffy tapped the side of his forehead. "What's with all these big confusing words?"

"Luffy," I spoke up, "Bless your heart! Bless your gold heart!"

Luffy chuckled, obviously not getting the hidden jab in my words. "Oh thanks Patrick!" he gave thanks.

Johnny mumbled, "That wasn't a compliment…" and I shot him a look to keep his trap shut.

"_Sooooo~_," Yosaku said in a song-ish voice, "Did you guys find a chef."

"Yep!" Luffy cut in cheerily. "I asked that cook with the funny eyebrows to join my crew!" He let out a small chuckle then. "His name's Sanji!"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! You asked _that guy_ to join your crew?!" Usopp said in horror, as if saying Sanji's name would summon him, like some parody Bloody Mary. Though I'm sure if that were true I'd be a bloody pulp at this point, so it's safe to assume that it isn't true. "Are you out of your _freaking_ mind Luffy?!"

"What's wrong? He's a great cook, he can kick butt, and he has funny eyebrows!" he counted off on his fingers. "What's not to like about him?"

"He sorta' almost killed me," I voiced my opinion, "And from the way he was trying to get into Nami's pants, I don't think it'd be wise to bring him on the ship." I knew my opinion was pretty much null, along with everyone else's too, but I might as well give it my all.

"Yeah! What if he tries to get me back for hitting him with that egg earlier?!" Oh yeah, Usopp pegged him with an egg. "Nu-uh, no way! I don't want him anywhere near me!" he continued to say with constant denial.

"_Whaaat_? Come one don't be like that. Sanji even helped that hungry pirate guy," he explained.

"Wait. Wasn't he one of Don Krieg's men?" I pointed out. "That doesn't sound like a good guy to—"

"Hold on a sec', did you just say Don Krieg!" Johnny cut in to roar at me with the ferocity of an armadillo. I tilted my head back just incase any spittle came with his words. The bounty hunter was panicking as he shot out from his seat, his eyes were bugging straight out of his skull behind his glasses. "ONE OF _DON KRIEG'S_ MEN WAS ON THAT SHIP?!"

"Calm down Johnny," called out Zoro, "What's the problem, you're making this Don Krieg guy sound like some big shot ."

"That Big Bro, is because he is!" Johnny yelled. He unzipped his jacket and pulled out a messy pile of papers that I suddenly recognized as wanted posters. He shuffled through them—and I swear I saw some I recognized, such as Alvida, the fat chick with magical liposuction, and the recently defeated Buggy—before he pulled out a specific one and laid it out flat on the table for all to look at. We huddled around it, and what was there there irked me dearly.

The picture was of a _giant _of a man. The image didn't even show the entirety of his body, yet I felt that he had to have had a height as tall as, if not taller than, Morgan. His jawline was strong, having a pronounced jaw that I felt added to his look of strength and power. On his visage was that of an angry scowl, one of displeasement. You could see it in his glaring eyes and frowning lips, promised nothing more than brutal destruction that struck like lightening. His hair, gray like dirty smoke, was a wild mane. It was not unkempt, but simply untamed, and I felt that his large sideburns helped further the image of a lion's mane. His head, tilted off to the left, cast shadows across his cheek and jaw, giving him his ruthless, and most certainly dangerous, aspect.

I stared into the image uneasily, and peeled my eyes from the powerful picture to lower them down to the words right beneath it.

**DEAD OR ALIVE: KRIEG; 17,000,000 Berri**

That's all it said. It didn't have anything like a title or a special name, and it didn't even say his full name. All that was there was 'KRIEG' in big, bold letters. It was short and sweet, like a glass of fine wine defiled by fast-acting cyanide. Not to mention vague and ominous—but ominous things tended to have a vague description, didn't they.

I couldn't help but feel the name was rather justified, as he ruled as one the strongest militarily pirate in the East Blue, and I was sure that he could've become an even bigger danger in the Grand Line, if he hadn't been taken down so casually, and swiftly, by Hawkeye Mihawk, like—and no pun intended—a hawk scooping up its pray to feast on its nutritious flesh.

But he had, and Luffy had dealt him the final blow in the end. Most people saw Don Krieg as nothing more than _another _small-time antagonist for Luffy to defeat to show fans how strong he was, and to further provide us with some form of action in which we could be kept entertained. And when you compared him to Arlong (Something I was not looking forward to) who completely outshined him, it made him look even smaller. But when you thought about it on a deeper scale this man, "Foul-Play Krieg," was a terror in the East Blue.

"So that's the guy, Don Krieg?" Usopp said with slight nervousness. "He look's scary."

"And that bounty…" I paused with a furrowed brow to give a whistle. "Jesus. That's bigger than both Kuro and Buggy."

"So whose this old guy?" Luffy asked, completely uncaring as he always was about things. "And who'd call them self Dome Kramp? That's such a weird name."

"—His name's 'Don Krieg!' Would you please take this seriously Big Bro Luffy, this guy isn't your everyday pirate!" Johnny roared at Luffy's almost impossible ability to screw up names. "He's a big player in the East Blue; one of the strongest in fact! And the fact that one of his men is here is bad news!"

I gave a nod, both at calling Don Krieg a big player in this ocean and calling him one of the strongest.

Don Krieg, on his own, was nowhere near as powerful as Arlong because of his Fishman anatomy. Arlong was both powerful physically, and versatile in the water. Not to mention his crewmembers, being of a similar race, were just like him too. But what he lacked in power he completely made up for it; quantity over quality as they say.

Before the entire 'Mihawk randomly appearing like a legendary Pokémon and going stabby-stabby' fiasco, he had a massive military force that made him an outright terror. Though I couldn't remember the exact number, I could only imagine that the amount of people under his control had to be _considerably_ larger than the remnants of a crew he used when he tried… tries to take the Baratie, because in the anime he arrogantly spoke of having several ships—an _armada_ under his command. This could explain why he was such a powerful force to begin with in this ocean.

There was a reason he was called the "Pirate Fleet Admiral."

"He's Don Krieg, Ruler of the East Blue." Yosaku said, equally worried.

"Ruler?" Nami questioned. "Like a king or something."

"No," Yosaku continued, "He's a pirate, the strongest in all of the East Blue. But I bet with the power he has, he probably lives like one."

"He's the captain of the Krieg Pirates, a pirate crew with a members numbering in the thousands!"

"T-T-The thousands!" Usopp repeated in shock. He looked quite pale as he leaned forward to rest his hands on the table. "You got to be kidding me? There's no way a pirate crew can have that many members!"

"But it's true. Don Krieg is one of the most powerful pirates out there. A bloodthirsty killing machine that will do anything to secure his victory! He's a cold, heartless, monster!"

Yosaku said as it is. Don Krieg was beyond savage, and outright ruthless in battle. That mountain of a man was the most treacherous of all pirates I had ever seen, committing cruel acts on levels near Crocodile and Doflomingo. He would attack his subordinates for insubordination, and sacrifice them like pawns in order to get a sound advantage, or to prove the point to his crew that he could and most likely would put a piece of lead through their skull, if they so much as disobeyed him. He'd slaughter entire villages, and sink vessels if he needed to.

"I've heard stories of him," Johnny said shakily, "He once took command of an entire Marine vessel by pretended to be a Marine. And when no one was looking, he killed off the guy in command and took over it." He stared down at the table in silence. It was quiet for that time as nobody dared to speak up.

"From then on he'd use that marine vessel to his advantage," he abruptly continued, "Everytime he entered the ports of towns, he would raise the Marine flag to fool everyone. And then, when they least expected it, he'd lay waste to them, plundering and destroying everything he could!"

"Whoa…" Usopp let out. Though I admit I was close to doing so too. The emotion in Johnny's voice had so much fear and anger in it. Just another reason to remind me that these were no longer drawings on paper, but flesh and blood. "That's scary."

"He'd use it again to fool unsuspecting cruise ships to raid them, scare of enemy pirates, and fool even other Marine ships that passed by!" he gnashed his teeth together in anger and growled out his next words. "He'd raise the white flag before attacking, sacrificed his own crew for advantages, and even lay waste to entire cities! The guy is a _monster_!" He repeated his claim for the second time.

"Oh boy. This guy, sure likes to fight dirty," Luffy half-heartedly said, not even caring for the list of atrocious deeds. But he didn't even know the half of it.

That man had a brain on his shoulders, even if he was completely full of himself. Don Krieg was quite the tactician and strategist; he used decoys and disguises to avoid battles deemed unnecessary. He was dishonest, unethical, and lacked basic honesty. He would stab someone in the back, hold someone for ransom, or use that twisted tongue of his to spew lies, if it could benefit him greatly in the end.

Through and through Don Krieg liked to play dirty, and I could respect that to some small degree.

"So he fights dirty," I said to play along, "That's something I can get behind." I gave my semi-false approval through a nod.

"What are you saying Patrick!" Usopp turned to me in horror of my approval. "Don't tell me you're actually ok with the horrible things this guy's done?!"

"—Of course not," I abruptly and placidly told him. "I just think that he's got the right mindset when fighting. The idea of an 'honorable battle is a well-wrapped lie made by men who could never stand a chance on the front lines against others who are leagues above them in power. The only point of battle is making sure that, in the end, you're the last one standing. And however you accomplish that is up to your own moral conundrums."

That was definitely true. In a fight you can't let morals blind you. They're a nice thing to have, and can even make you fight harder and better in some circumstances. But _never _let them get the best of you. Because your enemy no doubt will. So if it means stabbing your opponent in the back, gouging their eyes out, destroying a city or two, or any other tactic that may seem equally cowardice, as long as you and your side won everything was fair game.

And a human will do many things to win. Because who likes losing.

"That's a dark way to think about it—" surprisingly Nami who spoke. But I cut her off

"—Well fighting is dark, well usually," I said to her, "Who cares about all about that honor, pride, and manly stuff. It doesn't really matter when you are _dead_. I'd rather just kill the guy quick and efficiently and be done with it."

"You got a good point their Patrick," Zoro acknowledged. "That's a pretty good way to look at things."

_Oh Zoro-shenpai! Thank you for looking and acknowledging my_— I stopped it there before things got to weird.

"Well whatever! The point is we got bad news!" Johnny yelled out to get our attention. "One of Don Krieg's men was here and he's coming next!"

"No he isn't," I lied fully aware of what's to come, "The guy didn't come here, he was brought here. The Marine's caught him and he escaped." What I was basically doing was the opposite of what I should be doing, saying something like 'Yeah, he probably will come here, and try and take the Baratie and murder our faces,' or something of the sort. But I didn't know what to do.

Syrup village was still fresh in my memories. Jango roided out of control, nearly killing Zoro and I in a matter of seconds. I felt nothing but cautious about the future ahead of me. The idea that I could veer off the plot was something that always worried me, and it didn't sound enticing in the slightest. For each skew in the plotline meant less knowledge on the future events ahead. More depressingly, I had a deadline for how much of the future I knew.

I couldn't remember _exactly _what chapter was last out, but I did know this: Doflomingo was defeated. Dressrosa was saved. Luffy now had an alliance of pirates… And… And…

_I can't remember, _I thought while outwardly heaving a dejected sigh.

I knew my memories were foggy now, and while I wasn't aware how or why, but I was beyond worrying to much on it. I had more pressing matters to deal with than memory issues.

_Let's see what I remember... _There was the SMILE factory… Kyros and his daughter, Rebecca; they were royalty… Fairies… Fucking mountain Pica… I remembered the basic gist of what's going to happen. But all the smaller things just wouldn't come.

_I have to watch my step, _I told myself. _I don't know exactly how much of a problem some variations can cause, but it's safe to assume that smaller things won't be that huge of a problem. But causing bigger changes is something I don't want. _I nodded my head to that. I'd be careful and watched what I did, and made sure that my actions were generally beneficial to the plot at hand!

I didn't _need_ another Jango incident happening; I didn't _want_ another Jango incident happening!

"God dang it Luffy! You don't know that! This _Gin _guy could be some secret psych that loves to dress up in girl's clothes and eat babies!" Johnny suddenly roared, and I brought my attention, for a second, to stair at the increasing argument between them. "Just because someone acts super cool and nice doesn't mean they are!"

"Well Gin _is_!" Luffy and Johnny were butting heads as they tried to overpower one another. "Maybe he's from a different Krieg Pirates!"

"Who would be dumb enough to use the name of the _Ruler_ of the East Blue!"

"Ruler, _spuler_! He doesn't look so strong! I could kick his ass!"

I watched them for a second before bowing my head and throwing it back.

… _I'll probably fuck up! _I thought dejectedly, throwing my metaphorical arms up in the air.

Skewing off the plot—the _one _thing in this _entire _world I didn't want to happen—besides dying horribly, because it was the first—being transformed into a girl by Invakov was third—sort of brought me into a perpetual state of paranoia and worry. One wrong step and the butterfly effect will pop up out of nowhere and One Thousand Years of Death me (**CURSE ME FOR USING A NARUTO REFERANCE!**) straight up the butthole.

Frustrated, I gripped my head. "Jesus-fucking-Christ. What do I do?"

* * *

While horrors evolved inside my head, in a matter of minutes things devolved in the kitchen. Zoro was pulling on Luffy by his head, doing some _interesting_ things to his rubber skin. Yosaku and Usopp pulled on Johnny, who had got wrapped up in Luffy's rubber arms, were trying to free him. Nami was on the sidelines watching, looking on between annoyed and equally disappointed. It was too loud to think properly so I decided to book it before I got caught up in this mess too. So I left the kitchen to go to my room, but not before fetching a new glass filled with faucet-water.

I entered my room and shut the door behind me, before turning on the lights. The muffled argument in the kitchen was… muffled—so yeah. The cobra-grip on my brain was finally gone and I could finally conceive proper thoughts. I plodded over to the coffee table where most of my stuff resided, noting my wet ball of clothing—I'd have to get those cleaned—still in the corner. I kicked off my shoes, and stopped for a second to lift one foot at a time to take off my sweaty socks.

"_Aaaaggh_…" I moaned out tiredly as I plopped down in front of my the coffee table. I moved aside the last cup, now empty, because working with the spiritual arts got you thirsty, and sat the glass down in front of me. "Oh I'm _so _tired. That nap didn't do shit. My fucking eye too, God dammit Nami." I was tired… but today was a tiring day.

Not one to waste time at such a moment, I curled my index finger around the rim of the cup, letting the tip of it dip into the water. My Spiritual Energy—my Reiryoku—whichever it was supposed to be called—flooded the water and the connection was made. I didn't do anything at first, and was simply content with staring blindly into the water that glowed brightly with my power. The room's light interfered with it, but it was strong enough to shine light against me and the part of the wall the table was placed against. I sat deep in my thoughts...

_What the hell am I going to do? _I wondered aloud in my head.

_I'm too weak to face Krieg, and from the way Sanji handed my ass to me today, I probably couldn't face Pearl either. _I felt a ball of dread forming in my stomach at that thought. Don Krieg and his men would be coming here in like a few days! Maybe tomorrow; I had no clue! It wasn't specified how long Luffy worked here for! _Not to mention Mihawk is coming! I'll let Zoro deal with it!_ I took breath and calmed myself.

I had taken into account all of Don Krieg's power at it's highest peak, his vast army, strategic mind, and ruthless ingenuity, on top of his amazing armor and that toxic gas of his, Don Krieg was, before entering the Grand Line, a force to be reckoned with. Sure he was arrogant, that's true, but at the height of its power the Krieg Pirates could match, maybe even overpower, the Arlong Pirates. That was just my consideration though.

The only reason Luffy and the Baratie chefs even beat Don Krieg was because of Mihawk intervening. It was mostly being the first attack rather than the second time. He basically ripped out the claws of a lion, before coming back to take its fangs for good measure. Without his intervention, we'd be facing a group of pirates far larger—an army numbering above a thousand people—and armed right to the teeth with guns, swords and cannons alike. And I had no doubt in my mind that Luffy's story would've ended less than 30 episodes in.

_Thank you Oda for putting me on the side with the main character, _I thanked as I silently commanded the water to spin in the glass, centrifugal force keeping the water flowing clockwise on the edge. I then changed the current and made it go counter-clockwise. I repeated this over and over in my thoughts. _But it doesn't mean crap if I can't exactly fight them! Of course I could just fight from the sidelines… _I paused at that. _Maybe. I could just go of into the distance and fight like that, but when that's over I'll have to fight at Arlong Park. _That won't be fun, especially with what little power I had now.

"Up," was the word that came out beneath my breath. The water bubble and wobbled inside the glass before slowly, _slowly_, it began to defy this world's physics. The water flowed up, out of the glass, in wisps like entranced snakes, glowing brightly with my power.

"Converge," was my second command to be called. I visualized an empty sphere floating right above my head, and imagined the water converging straight to that point. It was somewhat like the technique I used to spark my powers. The water flowed, spiraling from general directions to the center of the sphere. They fused upon that point—a new shape was made—and I took a calming breath as it was finished.

I stared with wonder and pride at my creation. Floating right in front of my face, defying the law that is gravity, was a sphere of water, the size of a softball. A grin of satisfaction came onto my face as drops of sweat flowed down my cheeks and clung to my chin. As water was a liquid, its surface made the slightest shifts, showing that the only reason it kept this form was because of my will alone. My grin widened with my barely contained happiness.

But now comes the hardest part. "Dissemble," was the only thing I had to say for it to lose form and become a floating, shapeless mass. "Down." I took a deep breath, as I visualized the water flowing back into the glass. It followed my commanded; with each _deep_ breath spindles reached out like tendrils and flowed back into the glass. "_Down_," I repeated once again, and soon I—

-SLAM- -THUMP-

"OH MY GOD I'M GONNA' BLOW! I'M GOING TO _EXPLOOOOODE_!"

Then suddenly Luffy. That surely could've been a _perfect_ explanation on its own, but I feel as if you guys deserve more in-depth descriptions.

I was so close, _so_…_ close_…—like seriously, so close—to putting all the water back into the glass. But then out of nowhere Luffy came in! He slammed the door open to my room—which now made me realize one of the downfalls of claiming this space—with his pants around his ankles. Honestly an unusual sight to see, but I had bore-witness to weirder things here. He hopped his way to the bathroom before slamming the door behind him.

That was enough though to make me lose my concentration. The last bit of water, a little less than half, was caught under gravity's spell and splashed into my lap, soaking my pants.

_... Deep breaths… Deep breaths… Do not lose yourself to hatred... _

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I heard Luffy moan in relief on the other side of the door. "OH MY BLADDER! _SWEET_ RELIEF!"

_Do not… Don't…_

"God-fuckin-damn-it-Luffy—" I mumbled under my breath all at once. I let out a soprano-sounding sigh while lowering my head down. I looked back down at the wet coffee table… my wet pants…

Why was I still apart of Luffy's crew?

_Because he saved your life, _I said to myself, _When you wanted to abandon him and run away he still saved you._

"Oh yeah," I sighed while rubbing my face.

It was simple: Luffy saved me. And I don't think it was guilt of wanting to abandon them that made me stay. It was deeper. Luffy was such a great person! A heart of gold—sort of—was pumping in his chest and he just had this… _thing_ about him. I didn't really get it when I watched the anime, but being there in person, fighting for his friends—it sounded stupid and corny from an outside perspective, but when you're put into that situation where he does everything in his power to save you… You can't help but like the guy.

I guess… what I'm trying is… I _didn't _regret joining this crew… now. Though I was going to go through an absolute cluster-fuck as he throws this world on its head, and face life-threatening situations time and time again—over, and over, and over—until it nearly drives me bonkers… I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stand right by him.

_Geeze, I guess what Hawkeye said was true, _I thought while remembering a certain quote that he said about Luffy during the Marineford Arc.

"_It's not a Devil Fruit, or some cheap trick… One by one, he turns the people around him into his allies. More than anyone else sailing the seas… that man possesses the most terrifying power."_

_Mihawk was right, _I thought to myself while shutting my eyes and a smile gracing my lips. _Luffy has his own gravitational pull that just drags you in. _I remembered how he'd forced me to join his crew, along with everyone else. _Whether you like it or not._

"OH MY GOD, THIS IS THE BEST!"

The happy moment was gone when I opened my eyes, and let a deadpan frown come up.

_I wonder how such a bumbling idiot could be such a great, charismatic, and nice guy. _I gave a small snort and smiled. I already knew._ It's because he's a main character, who is the stepbrother of the Pirate Kind's son and the son of one of the most dangerous revolutionaries, and the grandson of the most powerful Marine._

Asinine jokes aside I needed to get stronger, or I would die.

_If I'm going to fight, against both Arlong and Don Krieg and their crew, I need to work on my powers. _I thought deeply. That was something I had been spending my time doing ever since I left Syrup Village. I diligently worked on bettering my control with Slaying Moon, hoping to make it evolve into its second form as soon as possible.

Slaying Moon was a "Clad-Type" Fullbring, meaning that it covered its user—me—when activated. And while Slaying Moon's final form was both equally epic and made you look like a Power Ranger, I was focused more on the idea of having armor.

So I was spending my time on the ship's deck already. At night I'd shooting off propellers into the ocean. I would do "spiritual training" until I was completely drained of any power. I had made a few bounds forward with it, and soon I'd be capable of firing off propellers with six arms instead of my average 3-to-5.

Then there was my recent breakthrough with connecting with the souls of inanimate objects. I could go on and say how fucking excited I was about the step forward in the right direction in being OP as ever, but let's not. And soon I'd be able to some awesome stuff.

Like _Bringer Light_! That _technique_ that I would find _really_ _useful_ towards my _survival_!

I wanted to learn Bringer Light—I wanted to fly super bad!

_On top of that, Fullbring can be applied to just about everything._ Just like in Bleach, everything here had a soul in it. I didn't exactly know the 'how?' or 'why?' for their presence but I wasn't exactly complaining. _I could apply Fullbring to my clothes and make them as strong as armor maybe! And if I practice manipulating fire, well fuck me, that'll be awesome! _Fullbring was versatile as it was versatile, Ginjo and Tsukishima helped prove that.

I admit it was annoying how Tite Kubo only used it as some sort of "Plot gateway" to give Ichigo his powers back, but Kubo's is the Troll God, so what else could I have expected?

But the things I could DO! I could fly, make my clothes stronger than steel, lift weights I never could, sprint faster than bullets, and control the elements to my very whim! Fire, wind, water—WATER! This planet was overflowing with H2O, and with my powers I could be _every_ Devil Fruit user's worst _nightmare_!

_Fullbring is such a useful power, but if I can't use it properly then it's worthless! _

I wasn't going to lie and say I was fucking dandy. Working on bettering my powers was a bitch to do because it was like trying to solve a twelve-sided Rubik's Cube with my hands having inverted controls. And with the growing threat of Don Krieg and Arlong, not to mention good old Croc right over the horizon… I was scared, frustrated, and a _bit_ mad. Zoro and Luffy had it easy, they just had to practice with swords and be all the time.

But for me it was different. Not only did I have to train spiritually, but train physically too. Fullbringers required tip-top physical condition, because unlike Soul Reapers and Arrancars, we had physical bodies and it was SO FRUSTRATING!

I felt like I was trying to carve a doorway through a brick wall with a plastic spoon! I knew I was getting _somewhere _but I wasn't getting there fast enough! I felt like soon I might not be able to keep up with everyone, and if that happened…

The Mario 'Game Over' tune played in my head, reminding me that my future looked sickly bleak.

"The only thing I can do now is train," I convinced myself to get off my depressing thoughts. "And I'm going to have to work double-time too!" Firing off Slaying Moon, working on controlling objects, physical workouts too… Fine, I'll do it! "I probably shouldn't limit myself to training at night though since it doesn't really matter."

I'd been doing that out of my old habit of people getting too nosy. But did it matter in the end? People were going to ask questions sooner or later.

"That means I'll have to explain Fullbring and Hollows... Soul Reapers too. Whatever, I'll do it."

I looked down at the glass of water and the mess around it. I couldn't help but feel invigorated by the harsh task I was setting myself up for. I was pumped! I was ready to do this! I was prepared for all-dayers and all-nighters to do this! And I was going to KICK SOME ASS!

_LET'S FUCKING DO THIS! FUCK YEAH! FUCK YEAH! FUCK YEAH!_

"FUCK YEAAAAAaaaaaa_aaaah_…" My surprising, and equally embarrassing chant, died on my lips. I looked left and I looked right, and was relieved to see nobody was there. Because that would've been so embarrassing if someone that.

"What was that about?" I turned around so fast my neck cracked. Luffy stood there, his pants thankfully up this time. He looked perplexed, the rubbery nerves in his brain struggling to jump over metaphorical hurdles to pass on electrical impulses from neuron to neuron. Maybe that's why he was so stupid. The Gum-Gum fruit counteracted his brain's ability to pass on electrical impulses properly because he was rubber, making him a complete idiot. He reached beneath his vest to scratch his stomach. "You just started screaming out of nowhere, and it was pretty weird," he said _casually_, as if what happened didn't even matter.

I stared back quietly with randomly pursed lips, and cheeks red like cherries. If it were anyone else I would've feinted for embarrassment. But Luffy, for a lack of a better word, was a _moron_. This would be the only time I would praise his empty noggin, because I could at least save some face with him. I collected myself silently before blinking and taking a deep breath, thinking about my next words carefully.

"U-Um. I-I'm getting' pumped," I stated dubiously.

_Really brain... really?_

"It's a little chant of mine to get me prepared to do something."

"Oh ok!"

Then there was silence

"Hey Luffy?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he returned.

"Why don't you go to sleep," I told him, "And make sure to grab a good, midnight snack before ya' do!' And that's all she wrote.

"That's a great idea Patrick," he agreed with a happy, yet hungry grin on his face. "I'll go do that! Later!" he left in a bit of a hurry, probably to raid the kitchen before anyone noticed.

_We should try and get a lock for our fridge, or a fridge with a lock, _I thought before cutting that train of thought off at the tracks. I couldn't hear anything besides Luffy, who was most likely rummaging through our food supply, and I doubted anyone was going to come barging in anytime soon. So I looked back down at my "workstation" and prepared myself.

"Ok let's do this… but _quietly_."

* * *

**Ding Dong Ding Dong~… Ding Dong Ding Dong~…**

**Do you know what that was the sound of? It's the sound of a fucking chapter.**

**You've been waiting on a new chapter and here it is! I made it extra long just to keep you guys happy—n-not because I sort of began going on and on. That didn't happen! And while it might be a little filler-ish, I think it's still nice.**

**Anyways, this was nice and I plan on getting the next chapter out as soon as I get the next chapter of Beneath The Covers done with. I think I'll intermediate between both it and Faker, I'll do one chapter after another, while giving some time to work out revisions after.**

**Also, I'm getting some complaints about Patrick not being strong, or strong enough yet. Let me being clear with you when I say that Patrick has little to no idea what he's doing. He was gifted with Fullbring, and has literally **_**learn**_**—taking baby-steps, to figure out how to properly fight with it. It's like trying to learn how to solve calculus equations for the **_**first**_** time in my opinion. So don't expect him to have the hang of this so easily.**

**But as you can see we finally have some leeway in this chapter. He can now connect his soul with things besides Slaying Moon. I plan to get him to learn Bringer Light soon, so expect that to be happening a lot. As for his Fullbring evolving, don't expect that to happen for a while, not until the whole Crocodile at least. **

**The reason being is that Patrick was given these powers, and now he has to slowly figure out how to use them step-by-step. He has to figure out its full potential and know how it works. For some of you this may be a slow start, but things will get for him.**

**Besides that, I hope you like my character development of him, as well as how he interacts with the crew. Him and Sanji will but heads, and Nami and him will probably hate each other's guts for some time. But I think that fits well with the story. But what I really want to know is if I got the character's personalities down.**

**Well whatever. I'll figure it out.**

**Anywhohow goodbye and see you again in my next chapter of Faker. And hopefully in my news story too.**

**Love NIGRIS, XOXO **


	21. Chapter 21

It's Nigris, here with a **SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT** for you all.

Ok, you guys don't know (I didn't have the chance to tell you) but for some time my computer has been "frazzled" for a lack of a better term. I don't know what happened to it really, it turned but that's as far as it could go before it shut down. I brought it in to Best Buy thinking it was the battery but apparently it had something to do with the motherboard short circuiting. That was why I haven't been posting anything until now; I don't have any other source that i could really use to post chapters. Again, I apologize for not telling you all, it's how it is.

But I have a _new _computer now. One that _works. _And I'll be posting chapters... soon... -ish.

In reality I won't-I'm going on hiatus for a bit. My computer had some stuff on it that couldn't transfer over like chapters and much spent blood, tears and anxiety. There are real life problems that I need to solve that I can't fix on my chair, no matter how comfy it may be, and I got college to worry about. So until then I won't be posting any new chapters or stories.

And I know-I know, that you guys might be a little cranky after so long without me posting anything, because I've been in that situation before.

Now, that isn't to say I _won't _be posting anything. Don't expect anything big, but I will be posting maybe a one-shot or two-just some story ideas that I'm not too sure if I want to make into full-fledged things. If all goes well and you like them-and it is crucial that you at least leave a comment or favorite it, I'll get to work on them as soon as my hiatus is over. I might post something for shits and giggle too.

During this hiatus I'll also be working on the dog shit grammar in the beginning of my story, Faker. Let's be honest here everyone, the grammar in the first beginning chapters of Faker are doo-doo, The kind your dog leaves behind on the carpet, and it's to _wet _and _juicy_ to pick up so you have to wait for it to dry out. Well... it's dried out, and I'm ready to pick it up. I've been saying that I'd be fixing up chapters for months on end but I never took the initiative-sorry, so I'll be using this time to _actually _do that. You'll see that the chapter has been revised and reviewed in two separate ways:

1\. **[REVISION DATE: XX/XX/XXXX] **will be posted somewhere around that top of the chapter.

2\. (Rewrite) will be posted next to the chapter number.

That's all I have to say. I'll be posting this on both stories, and before I leave you all allow me to make a recommendation on what you can read in the mean time. If you like the anime Overlord, then I suggest the story_ Godsfall_, by the talented _Honore with Shurpuff_. And if you like Persona and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, check _A Different Kind of Truth _by _The Infamous Man_. If you want a One-Punch Man crossover, there's a new one called _Daily life with Saitama Oh and a Monster Girl too_, it's a good read for a new story, and it's made by _Meanjojo_. Or if you're looking for a good insert-fanfic, there's _Normal Life? Yeah, Right _by _Writer With Bad Grammar T-T_. And lastly, and my favorite, there's _Prytaneum _a _Danmachi/Percy Jackson _crossover. If you're sceptical about it don't be, this is written by the same guy who made that RWBY fanfic, _The Games We Play_, Ryuugi. It's on SpaceBattles forum, not Fanfiction.

Ok that's all I have to say. I'll hopefully see you all later, with new chapters, new stories, and fixed grammar.

LOVE NIGRIS


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